The recent Netflix movie Mission Majnu was set in the Pakistan of the 1970s. While the Sidharth Malhotra-starrer spy thriller told a fictionalised tale, it borrowed several characters from real life, mainly the political and intelligence heads of India and Pakistan from back then. Among them, Ashwath Bhatt’s portrayal of General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s military dictator and later President, was much talked about. The actor recently spoke to DNA in an exclusive chat about the both praise and trolling coming his way for his performance.
Ashwath has appeared in films like Haider, Kesari, and Raazi in the past. He recently made his Telugu-language debut with Sita Ramam as well. Mission Majnu saw him return to playing a Pakistani military man for the second time after Raazi. “The roles can’t be more different though,” says the actor, “In Raazi Major Syed was a shy, calm, junior-ranking officer who looked up to his superiors. In Mission Majnu, Zia is the top boss. He is vicious, cunning, and authoritative.” Preparing to play a person so well known and well documented in modern history was a challenge for Ashwatt, he admits. “I watched a lot of his interviews on YouTube. In fact, I saw one speech of his nearly 200 times over the course of 4-5 days to get the body language and mannerisms correct. The important thing is to capture one important trait, which allows me to latch on to the character every time before filming,” he says.
The body language, diction, and the gait were the easy part, says Ashwath. What challenged him was getting into the man’s mindset. “The man was a chameleon,” says the actor with a laugh, “I had to get that confidence somehow, the confidence of a man who could execute a coup. That was the challenge.”
His performance has been praised by critics as well as several fans on both sides of the border. Humbled, Ashwath says, “I have received hundreds of messages on social media and WhatsApp from friends, acquaintances, and even writers and directors. That feedback is most precious for an artiste. This is what we do it for. It feels good that the hard work you put in is being noticed.”
But with the praise has come a fair amount of trolling as well, mostly from across the border. Many Pakistani viewers have criticised the film for portraying their country in a stereotypical fashion and have particularly slammed Ashwath’s Zia as a parody of sorts. Memes have flooded the internet about the film. Reacting to this, Ashwath says, “I can’t stop laughing at all the memes and comments from Pakistan. Somebody is saying I look like Amrish Puri while others are trolling me. I have taken it all in good humour. It’s feedback and most of it is funny, not vicious.”
Mission Majnu, which also stars Sidharth, Rashmika Mandanna, Kumud Mishra, Sharib Hashmi, and Parmeet Sethi, is currently streaming on Netflix.
