When we get on a call with Ali Abbas Zafar, he has just wrapped up the post-production of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. But you don’t hear the day’s strain in his voice. Instead, the director is relaxed, confident of the Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff-starrer. It marks his third Eid offering after the blockbuster Sultan (2016), and Bharat (2019) that didn’t do wonders at the box office.

“With Bade Miyan…, the expectations are different from that of a Salman Khan-starrer. In the past year, every kind of action film has been made. But for me, action is secondary; the story is primary. I am confident this story is new compared to everything that has been seen,” says the director.

Kumar and Shroff have been quintessential action heroes, but Zafar states it doesn’t take away from the film’s novelty.

“Akshay sir has been doing action for 30 years, and Tiger since he was launched in 2014. But I’m using their potential in a way that the audience will feel it’s new. Tiger Zinda Hai [2017] was an action film, but I made it nothing like Ek Tha Tiger [2012]. The first film was about romance, the second was a rescue mission. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is about two heroes who don’t take life seriously; they have a wicked sense of humour. The film is designed like a comic book.”

The April 10 release also stars Manushi Chhillar, Alaya F, and Prithviraj Sukumaran as the antagonist. It’s easy to see that the action entertainer hinges on Kumar and Shroff’s chemistry. But the director doesn’t view it as a two-hero offering.

“I was writing a three-hero film set in current times. What is happening around us technologically and what our armed forces are going through form the backdrop. It is a three-hero film—two good guys, and one anti-hero. Prithviraj plays a strong role. The heroes are saving the day, but it is the super-villain who is creating the chaos. As for Akshay sir and Tiger, they are disciplined and love martial arts. My action directors loved them more than I did. They had two stars who could pull off anything.” 

With only a day to go for the actioner’s release, we ask Zafar about the Mr India reboot that ran into troubled waters with the original’s makers. “I wouldn’t say Mr India is not happening as of now. We have a good script. We’re working towards it. Let’s see where it goes.”