By Arundhuti Banerjee

Mumbai, Aug 14 (IANS): After a seven-year sabbatical, actor Pawan Shankar returns to the screen with the film 'Bhuj' in which he plays Pakistani ISI chief Mohammed Hussain Osmani.

Pawan says his character shows two extreme sides of a man, who fights for his country as well as is deeply in love with a woman who is a spy and an enemy.

Since he is playing a Pakistani, in a film like 'Bhuj' that celebrates the valour of the Indian Army set against the Indo-Pak war of 1971, Pawan said that he tried not to make it an out-an-out dark character but an antagonist who deals with the protagonist played by Ajay Devgn.

Pawan told IANS: "My character Osmani is a Pakistani ISI chief who plans to destroy the runway of Bhuj. I tried to maintain a subtle element in the character because even though he is a Pakistani he is on duty to serve his country. When a man is saving his country, he could go to any extent. I know it could go wrong and over the top when you are playing a Pakistani character in an Indian film. But instead of making it like a bad villain, the character was written with a lot of humane elements."

His character also has a love story with an Indian spy Heena Rahman, played by Noora Fatehi.

"That love story is one of the interesting parts of my character that brings more dilemma in his mind. On one hand, he goes to the extreme to save his country, on the other hand, he is in love with a spy!" shared Pawan.

Pawan shot to fame with the TV show 'Siddhanth' and 'Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega'.

Asked about his working experience in the film, and Pawan said, "We shot a major part of the film in Bhopal. There is a Taj Mahal in Bhopal not many know but we shot a major part there. Nora is a star in her own right but I must say, she is very dedicated and has a strong desire to work more. She is a really admirable personality. I wish I had more scenes with her."

'Bhuj' is directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya, featuring - Ajay Devgn, Sharad Kelkar, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Ammy Virk, and Pranitha Subhash. It releases in theatres and on Disney+ Hotstar.