Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the sequel to Ranveer Singh’s 2025 blockbuster, hit the theatres today. Considered one of the most-awaited films of 2026, the Aditya Dhar directorial follows the story of an Indian undercover agent who infiltrates Pakistan’s notorious criminal syndicates and politics while avenging the 26/11 attacks and confronting bigger threats. With its release, the film sparked numerous spoilers and pre-release speculation.

One major hearsay following Dhurandhar's release in 2025 was the identity of Bade Sahab. Unverified media reports kept suggesting that either Salman Khan or Emraan Hashmi would portray the role. It has now been confirmed that Danish Iqbal is Bade Sahab, aka Dawood Ibrahim, the infamous terrorist behind the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai and numerous other terror strikes against India. The character is shown as an old, frail, bedridden man who commands immense respect and authority despite his physical limitations. The actor is in his 40s but is barely recognisable with all the prosthetic makeup he puts on to look like Dawood.

In an exclusive conversation with Republic Digital, Danish revealed that he spent nearly 9 to 10 hours each day in the makeup room to achieve Bade Sahab's look. He explained that he was always the first to arrive on set to begin the lengthy process and that his preparation time was longer than that of the rest of the Dhurandhar 2 cast.

“It was really difficult to pull off this character. It was not just acting. If you see the prosthetics and makeup, such heavy prosthetics are used. There are scenes in which I have to say lots of lines, also. It was very demanding to act with that heavy make-up,” Danish shared.

“I had to sit for 9-10 hours for the makeup, and then it takes a couple of hours to remove, sometimes even three hours. It was very difficult to act in the given circumstances. But the atmosphere on the set was so cordial and so positive that I never felt I had this much heaviness or anything extra. It was challenging, but I enjoyed the entire process,” he added.

Danish said in jest, “Main hi dulhan tha. I was the bride. Kuch patch hona tha (some patchwork was left after my schedule). I got a call. I was wary. This is a whole 12-hour session of makeup. Rooh fana ho jati thi ki ab 12 ghante baithna hoga.”

Dhurandhar 2 is running in cinema halls now. The movie features Ranveer Singh as Hamza Ali Mazari/ Jaskirat Singh Rangi. Apart from him, the film includes Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, Danish Pandor, R Madhavan and others.