How do you make Salman Khan’s role distinct from the plethora of cop characters he has played on screen before? That was Mahesh Manjrekar’s foremost concern when he started giving shape to Antim: The Final Truth that sees the superstar as a morally upright police officer. “He has played a cop in so many films — the Dabangg series, Wanted [2009], Garv [2004] and Radhe. So, Salman and I sat down to discuss how to make this character different. It was his idea to give the character a turban. Salman decided to grow his beard; he was [against the idea of] wearing a fake beard because it restricts one’s facial movements and affects the performance. He took a lot of trouble to do justice to the role,” says the director, evidently pleased with his leading man’s commitment to the project.

The actioner, an adaptation of Marathi hit Mulshi Pattern (2018), sees Aayush Sharma as a gangster whose criminal activities catch the attention of Khan’s cop. Manjrekar developed the cop as an all-white character, an antithesis to Sharma’s grey role. “He is an honest inspector who places duty above everything else.”

The director will remember the shoot of Antim for personal reasons — he was diagnosed with bladder cancer during filming, and underwent surgery in August. “I was being treated for overactive bladder for the past one-and-a-half years. [But earlier this year], I started bleeding. Before the doctors could tell me, I knew I had cancer,” says the filmmaker, who continued shooting as he underwent four rounds of chemotherapy.

“I couldn’t have waited till after the operation to finish the film. I had a three-month window before the surgery, where I had to undergo the chemo. I don’t know if it was my willpower, but I felt fine shooting the film [at the time].”