John Abraham is known for his action-packed entertainers and concept-driven productions. Meanwhile, in recent years, Emraan Hashmi has been seen in movies that have given him ample scope to display his acting chops. Over to John and Emraan, who talk to BT about the central characters they play in Sanjay Gupta’s gangster-drama Mumbai Saga that releases today:

Emraan: I didn’t know anything about the character or the story, but even without the narration, I wanted to work with Sanjay Gupta. His films are among those pieces of work that make for a defining cinematic experience. I remember I had seen Kaante in a single-screen theatre and was blown away by it. This time, I wanted to know his characters, his process of working and how he tells his story. It somehow resonated with me. I really liked the character of Vijay Savarkar, and John was on board, too, and I wanted to work with him. Yes, in an ensemble, insecurities fly high before you go to the set. John and Gupta had worked together, but it was a new set up for me. It turned out to be a completely secure and fun zone to be in and the best that an actor can ask for.

John: I had worked with Sanjay on Shootout At Wadala and Zinda. But this film was completely different from the other two. It is more mature and complete as a film, especially when I compare it to Shootout At Wadala. That was Manya Surve’s story, but this is a story of conflicts, which makes it more interesting and rounded with so many different elements coming together. When Gups (Sanjay Gupta) told me that he was looking at Emraan to play Savarkar, my eyes lit up because he is an actor I have been looking forward to working with. It’s difficult for me to explain, but when you see the film, you’ll realise how much his entry benefits the story. The way the story moves, you will find yourselves invariably rooting for Amartya and Savarkar at different times.

Emraan: I have never been that sort of an actor who looks at the screen time. I have always opted for characters depending on what they lend to the story and the impact they have on a film. Having said that, when you see the film, you will feel that both our characters leave a mark, and everything and everyone in the film has been justified in terms of their character arcs. As actors, we all look at what our characters mean to the story and maybe, at times, even what others are up to. With Mumbai Saga, I loved the fact that I was playing a cop for the first time, and it was a brand new space to explore.

John: I feel safe working with Gupta. It would be a risk to do another gangster film with him if it was only the story of my character, like it was Manya’s story in Shootout At Wadala. Here, the story is about a larger conflict and my character is probably at a pivotal point in that. As for Emraan, his character is in the zone that I was in, in Zinda. While Shootout At Wadala had high levels of testosterone, this film has a more mature story.

Emraan: I was very young when kids used to talk about these gangsters like they were urban legends. There would be so much misinformation, but people used to talk about antisocial elements and all that was happening at that time. They would whisper and talk in muffled tones. And then, the riots shook the foundation of the city. We got three days off from school at that time. It felt like a jolt at that age when your world is all about books and cartoons. It is tough to comprehend that such people exist and such things happen. The film talks about how things changed and how the landscape changed from mills to malls and skyscrapers. There were so many hands in the pie. This is our way of revisiting the city’s most defining moments.

John: The reason this film will impact people is that it makes references to incidents that they have lived or been a part of, in some way. I remember, Balasaheb Thackeray, during a speech, had spoken about why the future generations will call this city Mumbai. It has happened, right? We have made a reference to that in the film. Mumbai Saga impacts you because it tells you why and how Bombay made way for Mumbai, in an entertaining manner.

John: Whether you see it as a first-mover advantage or in any other way, we decided to have a theatrical release because this film deserves to be seen on the big screen. A lot of actors are always worried about their filmography in terms of box office and how it will look eventually. I would say we are gutsy as a team to release our film in theatres. Yes, we’re aware that Coronavirus cases are on the rise again. We don’t know what is going to happen in the next 24 hours, but we decided to release the film where it deserves to be seen. Emraan saw the movie before me, and he told me that, ‘John, this should go to the big screen.’ I don’t see it any other way either. It has heroism that people are missing. I would urge people to be responsible when they visit cinemas, but they should watch this film on a big screen. Today, we’re not worried even if we do take a hit. We understand that things won’t suddenly go back to what they were in 2019. We’ve gone past the stage of worrying about box office numbers. It’s important to bring the audience back.

Emraan: I think the entire team, including producer Bhushan Kumar and Sanjay, should be applauded for being brave and making such a strong decision. We could have taken the easy route out. We had the option of releasing the movie directly on an OTT platform, but we feel responsible for this film as it was designed to be a big-screen experience. Putting it out on a small-screen platform will be a disservice to this film. Releasing it in theatres should get a trickle-effect. The fear will take a while to wear off. Even if the collections are not as great, it’s an initiative and should be seen for what it is. We don’t know what will happen eventually, but this film was waiting for a long time to see its audience in a theatre. So be it!