Jaideep ‘arrived’ as an actor long before Raazi

Actor Jaideep Ahlawat is basking in the success of his latest film, Raazi, which continues to garner praise from fans and critics alike. Having been in the film industry for almost a decade now, ask him how it feels to finally get mainstream attention, and he says, “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this. Alia recently even put up a story on Instagram saying we never expected this much love and appreciation.”

He adds, “It’s a very beautiful story, and we were attached with it. I just want to thank every person who has watched the film. It feels great when your work reaches out there and people like it.”

In the film, based on author Harinder Sikka’s novel Calling Sehmat, Jaideep plays the role of a RAW agent, Khalid Mir, who trains Alia Bhatt to be a spy.

With box office collections still soaring and even the critics being generous in their praise, does Jaideep feel he has finally arrived? “I don’t know,” he says, “I had already arrived as an actor long back, and this is a process that will go on and on. You can only arrive as a product, as a celebrity or a star. Bollywood doesn’t make you a product, the market does. For example, Sachin [Tendulkar] sir played cricket, and with time, he became a product, he became a big name.”

However, he adds that life changed for him after getting fame: “You can’t be alone. People want to see you, be around you”.

Actor Jaideep Ahlawat says that you can only arrive as a product, as a celebrity or a star

A still from Raazi, in which Jaideep (R) plays the role of a RAW agent, Khalid Mir, who trains Alia’s character (L) to be a spy