Besides action, the actor’s third Baaghi film is also scaling up on the hero-antagonist conflict
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 16, 2020)

While speaking to Mirror earlier (July 11), choreographer-turned-filmmaker Ahmed Khan had said that he is upping the action ante for the third Baaghi film, promising that his leading man Tiger Shroff would “cross all limits”. Now, we have learnt that Tiger is up against three antagonists in the upcoming Sajid Nadiadwala production.

Israeli actor Jameel Khoury (right), who has earlier appeared in the Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe-starrer Hollywood action-thriller Body Of Lies and in the Israeli TV action-drama Mossad 101, plays the main villain. The other two are Jaideep Ahlawat (below), who played a senior RAW officer in Junglee Pictures’ Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal-starrer Raazi, and stunt master-turned-actor Ivan Kostadinov (left).

Confirming the news, Ahmed says, “Sajid bhai had seen Jameel in Fauda (an Israeli series), while I had spotted him in another show. We were both talking about him during the casting, but didn’t know it was the same guy as he looked different in both the shows. He is a busy guy. His scenes with Tiger have panned out well, Jameel plays the leader of a terrorist outfit.”

After shooting for over a month in Serbia, a schedule which began in early November last year, Jameel had visited Mumbai in December. “Jameel and Ivan’s characters work together, and Ivan also has some great action sequences with Tiger. He has done stunts for Dilwale and featured in The Expendables 3 (the 2014 Hollywood ensemble action-thriller). He is seen acing-off with Jason Statham in the climax sequence. Jaideep also has a pivotal role in the film,” informs Ahmed.

Ask him about the off-screen dynamic among the actors and Ahmed explains that he made sure “they don’t get too friendly with each other”. “I wanted to see the fire translate to the screen whenever they faced each other during the shoot. Anyway, Ivan speaks Bulgarian, while Jameel speaks Arabic. You will be surprised to see the action sequences this time,” Ahmed reveals.

Besides Tiger, the film also features Shraddha Kapoor as his love interest while Riteish Deshmukh plays his brother. Ankita Lokhande essays the part of Riteish’s wife. The four leads shot for the film in Jaipur earlier this month. Disha Patani, who was paired with Tiger in Baaghi 2, features in a special appearance this time around.