To Ali Fazal, Kandahar will be a memorable project for many reasons, one of which is the unusual way in which it landed on his plate. The actor bagged the Gerard Butler-led spy thriller over an hour-long call with director Ric Roman Waugh.

“I thought it was a preliminary call before the reading session or the audition. We ended up talking for an hour. After the call, my manager told me that the director loved me and wanted me on board. I discovered later that this is his way to analyze an actor. I guess I was being auditioned without even knowing about it,” the actor laughs.

Fazal reached Saudi Arabia a week before the film rolled to prep for the action sequences. A chunk of his set-pieces, he says, involved dirt biking. “I had to learn dirt biking for the role. In a scene, I had to get the bike out of a van, ride it on the sand, then take a U-turn, go back, turn it around on the spot and then race back into the horizon. Doing it is dangerous because the sand is shifty. You need to use your arms to maintain balance,” he shares.

Kandahar marks Fazal’s fourth Hollywood film after Furious 7 (2015), Victoria & Abdul (2017), and Death on the Nile (2022). Starting out with a bit role in 3 Idiots (2009) to sharing screen space with Butler today, it has been a long but satisfying journey for Fazal, who believes he is finally being taken seriously as an artiste. But juggling Hollywood and Bollywood is proving to be tough.

“I’m thankful that I am getting nice roles and great stories. My only regret is not being able to juggle my time. I have been a little selective about my roles because of the [time crunch].”

Actor Ali Fazal is all set to take his next flight to Hollywood with Kandahar, co-starring actor Gerard Butler. And the Indian talent promises lots of action and drama in his next international outing.

The film is being helmed by Ric Roman Waugh, known for bringing alive varied stories on the big screen through projects such as Felon (2008), Angel Has Fallen (2019), Greenland (2020) and the upcoming film National Champions. They will start shooting in Saudi Arabia.

“It’s quite a pleasant outing after the pandemic. Also as actors, we are always looking to better ourselves with every passing prospect. I continue to find new spaces,” an excited Fazal tells us from Saudi Arabia.

The screenplay of the project is written by Mitchell LaFortune, who is looking deep into his own experiences as a military intelligence officer in Afghanistan at the time of the Edward Snowden leaks.

Opening up about the project, the 35-year-old says, “It has been a lot of prep work for me for the last one month and studying all the material Ric and Mitch have given me to work with. Ric is a visionary in all senses”.

The film captures the story of an undercover CIA operative, stuck deep in a hostile territory in Afghanistan, and his escape.

Fazal, who has made a name for himself in the international market with projects such as Victoria & Abdul (2017) and Death On The Nile, says the script is spectacular. “I am humbled to be sharing my notes with the very best in the field. It’s a whole lot of action and drama,” adds the actor, who can’t reveal much about the project at the moment, but promises it to come packed with lots of thrills.