'Thugs of Hindostan' actor Saqib Ayub is currently seen in Ayan Mukerji's directorial 'Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva' and it came as a great working experience for the actor in the movie. He talks about his role and what it was to share screen space with Ranbir Kapoor and what he learned from him during the shoot.
He said: "I play one of Ranbir's friends in the film. I, Ranbir, and one more guy are 3 orphans who grew up together in a Mumbai orphanage and share a tight bond. We take up gigs like underground parties, weddings, festivals, etc. where Ranbir, who's a DJ, plays music and we both hit the lights, and other stuff."
Ayub recalled the conversations he used to have with Ranbir on different topics between the shoots."My scenes were only with Alia and Ranbir. Chatting with Ranbir about different things from travelling to music to football during the shoot and the casual banter we shared with Ayan and our other co-actors are the memories I will surely cherish for a long time."
"And Ranbir is a really helpful co-actor I would say. He would sometimes help me out with a line or action in the scene which I wasn't able to figure out. He's definitely a team player and a wonderful co-actor."
He further shares his working experience with the co-actors and expresses his happiness that the movie finally got released. "The filming took quite some time but I'm glad it has seen the light of the day finally. I'm only grateful to be on the same screen as Ranbir, Alia, Nagarjuna, and Mr. Bachchan with whom I've worked before in Thugs Of Hindostan in 2018."
Elaborating further on how it was to work with the director, he said: "A fantastic learning experience is how I would summarise it. He's super sweet, friendly, and of course immensely talented. He makes the comfort of the actors his priority and openly listens to what his actors say about the scene. He's more like a friend than an authoritative figure, which made me want to give my best for the film."
The 'She' actor said that initially when he started shooting for the film he was quite apprehensive and not so comfortable on the sets but the director, Ranbir, Alia and others in the film made things easier for him.
"When I started filming for it in 2018, I had no idea it'd become one of the most anticipated films. Of Course, I had a bit of anxiety during the first couple of days on set. But Ayan made sure I was comfortable and guided me through the shots for the day smoothly, which is a sign of a good director. Then in 2021, I shot for my second schedule which got delayed because of Covid and it was the same as before...The same warm energy of Ranbir, Ayan, Alia, my other co-actors, and crew greeted me back on set. We shot the song 'Dance Ka Bhoot' which was a lot of fun. I was lucky enough to be there with everyone on the final shoot day of 'Brahmastra'. By then it had indeed become one of the most anticipated films in the country," he concluded.
Directed by Ayan Mukerji, the movie features Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Nagarjuna Akkineni, and Mouni Roy.
On the work front, he will be seen next in 'Bambai Meri Jaan' and 'Farzi', and also roped in to play an important part alongside Vicky Kaushal for Meghna Gulzar's 'Sam Bahadur'.