The actor endured hours of prosthetic makeup and secrecy to portray the shadowy underworld figure in Aditya Dhar’s crime saga, surprising both audiences and himself.
For months, speculation swirled around the mysterious figure of Bade Sahab in Aditya Dhar’s crime saga, Dhurandhar and its sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Audiences were hooked, eager to unmask the shadowy force orchestrating crime and chaos from behind the scenes. On March 21, 2026, the curtain finally lifted: Bade Sahab was none other than the notorious underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, portrayed by the versatile Danish Iqbal.
The reveal came as a surprise not only to fans but, astonishingly, to Iqbal himself. According to Devdiscourse, the actor was initially unaware that his character, known only as Bade Sahab during filming, was in fact Dawood Ibrahim. “I got my Eidi a little early. I knew that I was playing Dawood Ibrahim in this film, but I didn’t know that Dawood Ibrahim is ‘Bade Sahab’ to be very honest. So I kept wondering who could be Bade Sahab. But when only a few weeks were left before the film’s release, somewhere I started to feel that maybe Dawood Ibrahim’s character itself could be Bade Sahab,” Iqbal told PTI.
This twist was a masterstroke by director Aditya Dhar and casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who deliberately kept the true identity of Bade Sahab under wraps. Their approach ensured that every role, regardless of the actor’s fame, was given equal weight in the storyline, allowing the mystery to build organically. As Devdiscourse highlighted, the environment they created on set allowed actors to thrive, focusing attention on character depth rather than celebrity allure.
In the original Dhurandhar film, Bade Sahab was an unseen but omnipresent force—pulling the strings of Lyari’s crime lords, ISI handlers, senior police officers, and political fixers, all while remaining entirely off-screen. The sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, finally unmasked him as Dawood Ibrahim, the underworld don held responsible for the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts and numerous other terror incidents in India. This revelation shifted the audience’s curiosity away from the actor’s identity and toward the character’s mannerisms and appearance. “The way everything was created, the world of that character when people saw it, they forgot about which actor it was. They started focusing on the character itself. And that is the beauty that when a character is properly brought to life on screen, people appreciate the art more rather than glorifying the personality of the actor. They start liking the character. The appreciation I received for my acting talent became more important,” Iqbal shared with PTI.
But bringing Dawood Ibrahim to life on screen was no easy feat. Iqbal’s physical transformation was as grueling as it was impressive. As reported by Sat, he had to endure eight to ten hours of prosthetic makeup each day on set. “On the first day, I thought it would be done in two or three hours, no big deal. But it took me five hours to complete it. And eventually, it took 8-9 hours. Sometimes 10 hours,” Iqbal explained. The prosthetic, designed to age him and reflect the character’s illness and challenges, was so convincing that, as Iqbal put it, “It doesn’t look like makeup. It looks like a person. And that’s why it’s so difficult to do it — portraying that age, portraying his illness, portraying his challenges on screen.”
The ordeal didn’t end when the cameras stopped rolling. Removing the prosthetic was another marathon, taking up to three or four hours every day. “And then removing…prosthetic used to take three to four hours,” Iqbal told Sat. Despite the physical toll, Iqbal found the experience deeply rewarding. “I was…a little bit worried (thinking), how will it come out. But yes, I thoroughly enjoyed…the process,” he reflected.
Interestingly, Iqbal deliberately avoided watching or drawing inspiration from previous portrayals of Dawood Ibrahim. Over the years, the underworld don has become one of the most depicted figures in Hindi cinema, appearing both directly and through inspired characters. Vijay Maurya played him by name in Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday, Emraan Hashmi took on the role in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, and the late Rishi Kapoor portrayed him in Nikkhil Advani’s D-Day. Iqbal, however, wanted to carve his own path. “I was worried that I might get trapped in that circle, that I have to portray the character’s image. But then I forgot that this is the name of a character who has a reference in front of us, and all the actors who have portrayed him because then I wouldn’t have been able to play this role. I was thinking that these are the given circumstances and these are the dialogues. These are his co-actors with whom he is talking and these are his problems. And what is his demand? What does he want? Focusing on all these things, I made the character. I didn’t imitate anyone,” he told PTI.
For Iqbal, who has built a solid reputation in acclaimed projects such as Maharani, Aranyak, The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case, Bhakshak, and Haq, this role was a distinct challenge. Unlike the star-studded cast of the two-part saga—which includes Ranveer Singh, Ashaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sanjay—Iqbal may not be a household name, but his nuanced approach to the character has resonated with both critics and viewers. The appreciation he’s received for his acting, rather than his celebrity, marks a significant moment in his career.
The sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, doesn’t just focus on the unmasking of Bade Sahab. It also features Ranveer Singh as Jaskirat Singh Rangi, a young man who transforms into covert operative Hamza Ali Mazari, operating deep inside Pakistan. The narrative traces Mazari’s rise in the Karachi underworld while unraveling the origins of the man behind the cover—Bade Sahab, now revealed as Dawood Ibrahim. This layered storytelling, with its intricate web of crime, politics, and identity, has kept audiences glued to their seats.
Director Aditya Dhar’s vision, combined with Mukesh Chhabra’s meticulous casting, has delivered a film that prioritizes character over stardom. By keeping the identity of Bade Sahab a closely guarded secret, they not only stoked public curiosity but also gave Iqbal the space to create a version of Dawood Ibrahim that feels both fresh and authentic. The result is a portrayal that’s less about mythologizing the man and more about exploring his influence—an unseen hand shaping the destinies of those around him.
As the credits roll on Dhurandhar: The Revenge, one thing is clear: Danish Iqbal’s dedication—enduring hours of makeup, embracing uncertainty, and focusing on the humanity behind the infamy—has paid off. Audiences may have come for the mystery, but they stayed for the performance.
