Intention is to do work that will be remembered: Arjan Bajwa

Mumbai: Actor Arjan Bajwa, best known for films such as "Rustom" and "Kabir Singh", says his aim is to do selective but good work, which should have a lasting impact on the audience.

Bajwa broke out after he starred opposite Priyanka Chopra in Madhur Bhandarkar's "Fashion" but since then, the actor has mostly played supporting parts in movies such as "Guru", "Crook", "Bobby Jasoos", "Rustom" and "Kabir Singh".

"For me it is not always about the length of the role or being the face of the film but what people take back home or what leaves an impact on the audience. There have been films where I have played quintessential hero or a negative role and people have liked it.

"I want to do interesting stories and not do regular run-of-the-mill story. The intention is to do work that will be remembered. I am glad people remember my work in most of the films I have done. The recall and repeat value does matter," Arjan told PTI in an interview.

The 40-year-old actor said it isn't a conscious decision on his part to do less work as there have been moments when a potential opportunity for him has been sabotaged..

"I look for very selective stories. I look for stories that excite me. But then there are times when I want to do films and people have different agenda to not cast you. All those directors should be answerable for that. Let's not get into it and take names," he said.

Arjan has now ventured into the digital space with "State of Siege: 26/11". The actor said he agreed to the show as it offered him the chance to play a defence personnel.

"I have wanted to do a role that is of a defence personnel or like people in the army for a very long time. The offer came through this web-series. It was very exciting to play the role of a commando."

Arjan's role is inspired by Col Sunil Sheoran, the NSG (National Security Guard) head, who led the commandos in the fight against the terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.

"For this role, we had to give attention and importance to smallest of things. We interacted a lot with second-in-command of the unit Col Sandeep Sen, he was the consultant and the supervisor on our show.

"He narrated us a lot of stories of Col Sheoran, he taught us how to behave like commandos. Besides all this, we did a lot of training in boot camps, weapon training, how NSG operates and about the whole operation."

The actor said his web-show "State of the Siege" narrates the story through the eyes of NSG commandos, which he believes should be told to the world.

"The films that have come earlier have had the point of view of cops or of people who have suffered or died but not of defence services, like NSG in this case, who actually flushed out the terrorist and finished this operation.

"Everybody knows they came from Delhi and that's it and they know nothing beyond that, I don't think many people would even know the full form of NSG. We need to tell a story from their point of view, I believe they were the heroes, who took control of the situation and neutralise the terrorist."

The series also features Arjun Bijlani, Mukul Dev, Vivek Dahiya, Tara Alisha Berry, Sid Makkad, Vikram Gaikwad in pivotal roles.

The eight-episode series is based on Sandeep Unnithan's book, "Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11" and has been directed by Matthew Leutwyler. The crime-thriller series is streaming on ZEE5.

Besides "State of Siege: 26/11", Arjan said he will soon start work on two films and two web-series.

"One web-series is a drama-thriller, which was supposed to start by March end but now considering the situation it will be pushed, everything has come to a grinding halt. Another series is a political drama, it will start mid-year. I can't disclose anything in detail.

"Both the films are in thriller space, one is in a cop thriller and another is a horror kind of thriller and they should start in the middle of the year," he said.

PTI