Sidharth Malhotra opens up about Mission Majnu being compared to Ek Tha Tiger, says, “It is not an out-and-out action film like James Bond or Ek Tha Tiger”

Netflix dropped the trailer of the espionage-thriller-drama, Mission Majnu. Featuring Sidharth Malhotra and Rashmika Mandanna, the film will take you through a rollercoaster of emotions including love, sacrifice, betrayal and honour. In the film, the actor takes on the role of an Indian spy who goes undercover in Pakistan.

While talking to a news portal regarding what did the actor like the most in his role, Sidharth said, “It is inspired by true events so we had a lot of public domain information as to what really transpires, at least for my character, when people go abroad from agencies across India to protect the country. They don’t really go guns blazing. The whole idea is to be so secretive and so unassuming that the person could be in this room and we wouldn’t know. So that dynamic of being unnoticed and unknown in a vast majority of people and not standing out was so interesting to me”. Further speaking about his character, the actor said, “This is the first time for me playing a character based in the 1970s so there is a retro aspect to it. The lingo is different and since I am an Indian spy in Pakistan, he speaks Urdu and portrays himself to be different. There are so many layers.”

When asked how Mission Majnu stands out from other stories of Indian spies, Sidharth replied, “The tonality of it!” He elaborates, “This is a spy genre which is not taking that in-your-fae hero approach. I don’t even use guns in the film. There is one action piece where he is using a gun because in reality, it would defeat the purpose if he was going out killing everybody. I really love the way they would work on information gathering, which is more of trial and error. That is the USP. This is a spy genre which is not taking that in-your-face hero approach. It has an emotional graph for sure”. He further added, “It is not an out-and-out action film like James Bond or Ek Tha Tiger, where they are blasting things around. I think it makes for a fresher watch.”

Mission Majnu is all set to release on Netflix. However, the film was initially slated to make a theatrical release last year. It saw its release date pushed back twice and eventually saw a platform shift as well. To this Sidharth said, “A good film gets its due. It will make that noise because word of mouth travels. I think it’s imperative to focus on your quality now. You can’t give something that is half-baked and not up to the mark. But there are many avenues now. With Netflix, we are coming to your homes now because the dynamics of how people look at theatrical releases has changed too. So yes, lines are blurred.”

The actor does admit that the commerce of cinema has created a certain template for films. “In the current scenario, on Friday, we become obsessed with things like ‘I will do this and my film will be a hit’,” says Sidharth, adding, “The producer says if I can do this number, I can say my film is a success or profitable. We are all desperately trying to get that perception. It is tiring at times, maybe not even accurate at times. Only a longer span of time will tell you what an actor has contributed to the field. It can’t be judged on that Friday or that weekend.”

Starring Sidharth Malhotra, Rashmika Mandanna, Parmeet Sethi, Sharib Hashmi, Kumud Mishra, Zakir Hussain and Mir Sarwar, Mission Majnu is arriving on Netflix on January 20, 2023.