Pakistani politician Nabil Gabol—on whom Rakesh Bedi’s character Jameel Jamali in Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar franchise is largely based, by popular perception—has been thrust into the spotlight since the film’s release.
Nabil Gabol had earlier slammed the first installment of the franchise. He even said he intended to make a project inspired by his version of events, tentatively titled Lyari Ka Gabbar, to counter the Dhurandhar narrative.
In a recent interview, Nabil Gabol conveyed his love for Rakesh Bedi, the senior actor who has earned a new fanbase with the two films.
In a recent interview with content creator Navin Giri, Nabil Gabol said, “Rakesh Bedi is an actor. He is an artist. I want to tell him that we may look similar. Humara dil, humari khoon, humara chehra sabka ek jaisa hain. Main personal nahi hona chahta hoon unke saath (Our hearts, our blood, our faces might look similar. I don’t want to get personal with him)!”
“Give my message to Rakesh Bedi, that I respect you as a very senior actor and I love you,” he added.
For the uninitiated, Rakesh Bedi plays the shrewd Pakistani politician Jameel Jamali in the Dhurandhar franchise. Since the film’s release, social media has assumed that Rakesh Bedi’s character is inspired by Nabil Gabol.
With the release of Dhurandhar 2—which revealed the real identity of Rakesh Bedi’s character—Nabil Gabol has been trolled by Pakistani media.
‘They Used Comedian Rakesh Bedi To Play My Role’
In a recent interaction, Nabil Gabol criticized the way the character was portrayed, especially the twist showing him as an Indian intelligence operative.
“The truth is that they cannot fight Pakistan or the Pakistani Army, so they created a movie instead. Through this, they have made Lyari internationally famous. The people of Lyari do not care; they are very strong. They used a comedian, Rakesh Bedi, to play my role and portrayed him as Nabil Gabol,” he said.
Rakesh Bedi later claimed, “No, I didn’t just base it on Nabil Gabol; I made it a general depiction of all Pakistani politicians.” However, in 2007, the MNA (Member of the National Assembly) of Lyari was Nabil Gabol.
Nabil Gabol Slammed Dhurandhar
When Dhurandhar released last December, Nabil Gabol expressed dissatisfaction over the film’s narrative and character portrayals.
“Jo mera role dikhaya gaya hai, mera role bahut dabbang tha, or dabbang iss tareeke se tha ki inhone mere role ko sahi tareeke se nahi dikhaya (I was very audacious. But they haven’t shown me the way I was),” he said.
Speaking of Dhurandhar 2, the film has already surpassed the lifetime collections of Dhurandhar in 11 days.