His first meeting with director Neeraj Pandey:

“I have always been a big fan of his works. I met him while he was making and we had an informal meeting around that time. Eight months later, he called met to speak about Aiyaary. What intrigued me was that he is one of the few directors who can make commercial cinema based on real, relevant topics. His thrillers won’t be about multiple costume changes or inserting songs for no reason. All the twists are realistic and situational. Therefore, to play an antagonist in a Neeraj Pandey film was as good as it got.”

On doing his own stunts: “It’s not an actionheavy film per se, but an espionage thriller. I am not like the hit Hollywood spy James Bond and there’s no room in Aiyaary to wear a tuxedo or drink a martini. We have made our own real, gritty version of how Indian military officers function. Bond and we work in the same MI [military intelligence] department, but our lives aren’t as glamorous. We are just hard-working.” film and the irony is that both of them are right. But sometimes, your own truth cannot be the only determining factor for your country’s fate and security. The film shows how your country comes first and how sometimes you have to look at the larger interests of your country than an individual cause or their version of truth.”

On working with Neeraj Pandey: “He’s the writer of Aiyaary and he has invested many years into writing the script and doing adequate research. He was armed with the research material and information during filming. I used to sit with him and we used to talk about each and every working of my character. We spent two months talking about my role and that gave me a fair idea of what I was getting into.”

Will be jingoistic?: “Aiyaary is an intelligent thriller and it’s not just about bashing up your enemy country to play to the galleries. The characters, their stories and their definition of patriotism is what makes this Neeraj Pandey thriller outstanding.” Aiyaary releases in the UAE tomorrow.