Ali Fazal on fatherhood, Mirzapur and why he almost turned down Raakh

When actor Ali Fazal was offered the recently-released series Raakh, his first instinct was to say no. After being part of the intense world of Mirzapur for three seasons, the actor was at the time eager to shift his focus back to movies rather than commit to yet another long-format project. There was also a practical hurdle: Raakh’s shooting schedule overlapped with that of the Mirzapur film. Physically, too, he was in the wrong place. The actor had bulked up to reprise his role as Guddu Bhaiya, a bodybuilder-turned-gangster in Mirzapur, and looked far more muscular than the unassuming cop he was to play in Raakh.

Eventually, the film’s schedule got pushed and Fazal joined the cast of Raakh. He found the script “deeply cathartic.” “Raakh’s writing is nuanced and it never demanded that larger-than-life portrayal where a cop is bashing up people around him,” Fazal says about his character Jayprakash Jatav, a sub-inspector who wants to work his way up on merit, even as he navigates the limitations of the “claustrophobic” system. Currently streaming on Prime Video, Raakh is an eight-episode crime series set in the late-1970s’ Delhi and fictionalises the 1978 Ranga-Billa case.

A still from Ali Fazal’s Raakh.

Though Fazal has, by his own admission, worked on “a beautiful but slightly crazy mix” of projects so far, these days he is more selective because his time is divided among Indian films, international projects and his family. After being part of several talked-about international films such as Victoria & Abdul (2017) and Death on the Nile (2022), he has been consciously focussing more on working in India because people had started assuming that he doesn’t live in India anymore. “I do live here and I want to keep telling Indian stories. There’s some extraordinary work being made right now, and we should celebrate it,” he says. Braving the Mumbai monsoon, he arrives in white kurta-pyjamas and marigold-yellow cap at a suburban hotel for this interview.

Much before Mirzapur, the series streaming on Prime Video, gave a boost to his career and brought him into people’s homes, he grabbed the audience’s attention as the sensitive Joy Lobo of 3 Idiots (2009) and, later, with popular movies such as Fukrey (2013) and Happy Bhag Jayegi (2016). “In the last six or seven years, I don’t think I have travelled anywhere where Indians haven’t recognised me from Mirzapur. We recently went to New Zealand and even there people immediately recognised me because of the show,” says Fazal, who grew up in Lucknow, studied at Dehradun’s The Doon School, and later graduated in economics from Mumbai’s St Xavier’s College. His next, Mirzapur: The Movie, is scheduled to release in theatres on September 4.

Today, Fazal mostly chooses his projects based on his instinct and its intent. “If my name can help a film get made or sold, then I have a responsibility to think carefully about who is directing it, producing it and whether I’m genuinely bringing something unique to the role. I have even turned down scripts that I loved because I felt another actor could do them just as well. If I don’t feel I can contribute something distinctive, I would rather step aside,” says the actor, who is excited about an Indian project he is starting soon. “It’s a comedy and has a completely fresh team. It tells a relevant story,” he says, adding that he will be able to share specific details after a month.

Becoming a father to Zuneyra Ida Fazal, born in 2024, too has influenced his choices. “It’s almost like an entirely new universe arrives in your home. I am someone who believes in the divine, so becoming a parent definitely changes your perspective. Maybe I read scripts differently now. Fatherhood has certainly made me want to approach life, and perhaps my work, a little more responsibly,” shares Ali, who loves reading Star Child by Claire Nivola to his daughter these days. “We try to surround Zuni with books because we are avoiding screen time as much as possible,” he adds.

Also Read – Raakh review: Ali Fazal thriller takes the horrific Billa-Ranga case, turns it into fiction

Expanding his career beyond acting, Fazal co-founded Pushing Buttons Studios with his wife, actor Richa Chadha, in 2021 and produced Girls will be Girls. The Shuchi Talati-directed feature, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2024, won two major awards there and was screened at several major film festivals. Talking about “championing Indian cinema”, he says, “We’re nothing without our stories. Whenever I am on a global platform representing India, I never differentiate between industries. I speak about Indian cinema as a whole,” says Fazal. Citing the success of Academy Award-winning films like Parasite (2019) and Anora (2024), he believes, independent films now have a genuine chance to travel through festivals, reach international distributors and win awards.

Being on the set is “meditative” for Fazal. “While shooting, I am focused only on the project and my family,” he says. When he is not working, he reads a lot. “Now, my reading has slowed down. Richa recently saw me reading the same book that I started some time back and joked, ‘You’re still on this one?’,” he laughs. He recently loved reading South Korean writer Han Kang’s Greek Lessons. “It’s very different from The Vegetarian but equally beautiful in its own way. At the moment, I’m reading Decoding the Quran: A Unique Sufi Interpretation. It approaches the Quran through a Sufi lens, which I find fascinating. I have also been meaning to read Arundhati Roy’s Mother Mary Comes to Me.”

It is evident that as an artiste, his interests are diverse — that extends to the kind of characters he wants to portray. “I would happily do a John Wick-style action film next. I would also love to act in a science-fiction or historical film. And yes, we are overdue for a truly memorable romance. Great love stories are difficult because they depend so much on emotional honesty,” says Fazal, who is learning screenwriting and collaborating with a friend to develop a superhero film. “It is unlike anything we have seen before. I don’t know when it will be ready, but it’s exciting.”