When writer-director Faruk Kabir shot the climax of Khuda Haafiz (2020) that saw Vidyut Jammwal’s character rescue his wife who was abducted and forced into human trafficking, he knew that the love story between the lead characters was only beginning. Soon after the film’s release, the director sat down to write Khuda Haafiz Chapter 2 - Agni Pariksha. “That incident changed them. The wife was raped, and had unimaginable trauma. Vidyut’s character doesn’t know how to reach out to her. Their relationship can’t be normal. I knew that could be the starting point of this story,” recounts Kabir.

What followed was 10 months of rigorous writing, as he gave Sameer and Nargis — essayed by Jammwal and Shivaleeka Oberoi respectively — a new journey. The latest release sees the couple put the ghosts of the past behind them and begin anew as they adopt a daughter. It took the filmmaker a while to zero in on the right story for the sequel.

“As an artiste, you can’t plateau while making a sequel. You should be telling a better and more sensitive story. I needed to nurture the story. I am confident that women will like this film.”

In Jammwal, Kabir says he has found the perfect leading man and a friend. He reveals that the actor was not the first choice for Khuda Haafiz. “The film chose him,” he smiles, before adding, “I had started the first film with a different actor. We shot for a few days, and it didn’t work out. I came back home and told my mother, ‘This isn’t meant to be.’ Then Vidyut came along, and I understood how this movie was meant to be with him.”

He credits the actor for bringing the character alive on screen. “He doesn’t speak much in the film, but he has internalized [the pain]. Vidyut and I spoke about personal things to dig [into the nuances] of relationships. He understands quickly and adds the right nuances. People will see a tectonic shift in him. I realized this during the shoot of an emotional scene, when he fainted after completing it.”