MUMBAI: Actor Mukul Dev, who played the character of a militant leader and mastermind of the terrorist attack in the web series "State Of Siege: 26/11", says that portraying a real-life character in an utmost realistic way was the exciting part to be in the show.
Asked about what was the intriguing point of playing Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Mukul told IANS: "I have known this character through my extensive research work and study before I penned the story of the film 'Omerta'. Since that was a story of a terrorist, I had to read up a lot about Lakhvi as well, to write all the characters in the film. So when the makers of the show came to me with the role, I felt it is such an apt casting!"
The show is directed by American director Matthew Leutwyler and produced by Abhimanyu Singh. The story of the show revolves around the serial blasts executed by the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba in Mumbai in 2008.
Mukul said: "When I went to meet Matthew, I told him that I do not want to wear the cap and coat all the time like the way it is shown in most of the films. I want to wear kurta pyjama and I want to look real for the character because I have already studied Lakhvi. Our director agreed and from the first meeting we were on the same boat."
The show also features Arjan Bajwa, Arjun Bijlani, Vivek Dahiya, Sid Makkar, Tara Alisha Berry, Khalida Jaan, Jyoti Gauba, Roshni Sahota, Suzanne Bernert, Naren Kumar and Jason Shah.
According to the actor, he looked at the opportunity to break away the stereotypical portrayal of a terrorist usually shown in mainstream Hindi films.
"I was assured of the fact that I will get the opportunity to play the character in the most realistic manner. Usually, people tend to add some 'filmy tadka' in these terrorist characters but they are not real. This man was a real evil man!" shared Mukul.
"State Of Siege: 26/11" streams on ZEE5.