Mumbai, 5 Apr

After nearly three decades of hustle and reinvention, actor-producer-writer Bimal Oberoi, who played Shirani, the leader of Baloch, is having his moment in the spotlight, and he credits it to one film, 'Dhurandhar'.

Oberoi played a small yet pivotal role in Aditya Dhar’s two-part spy thriller 'Dhurandhar'. The first film was released in December 2025, followed by the second instalment on 19 March, which has already earned over Rs 1,500 crore at the global box office.

“What ‘Dhurandhar’ has done for other actors and me is what one comes here for: recognition. It has been like a blessing,” the Delhi-born actor told PTI in an interview.

The 54-year-old has previously appeared in supporting roles in films and OTT shows like 'Tiger 3', 'Panipat', 'Bard of Blood' and 'Mukhbir: The Story of a Spy', among others.

"Dhurandhar" follows the story of Ranveer Singh’s Hamza Ali Mazari, an undercover Indian agent tasked with his most dangerous mission: infiltrating the criminal and political underworld of Karachi.

Social media is buzzing with memes calling Oberoi the 'Blinkit of Balochistan', courtesy of his character Shirani’s ability to deliver everything from heavy weapons to classified intel with the same lightning speed, as the delivery service company.

“I’m overwhelmed,” the actor simply said and credited Dhar for “beautifully” writing and “placing” his character in the film, for which he shot for barely 10 to 13 days.

“I’ve seven to eight scenes, the lengthiest dialogue was with Ranveer when we talk about the kids in the first part, otherwise I’ve just one-word dialogues like ‘Ho jayega’, ‘Kar denge’, blinkint kind of dialogues,” Oberoi said in a lighter vein.

He also credited how every character in the film had "ample space to leave a mark" in the film.

“What I like personally about this film is that most of the characters, whatever was shot with them, has been retained. It’s only because it has been made into two parts that all the characters come across very nicely. There is ample space for every actor to leave a mark."

After working briefly as a medical representative in Mumbai, Oberoi met Daler Mehndi in Amritsar in the early 90s through a common friend. The noted Indian singer promised him that after the release of his first album, ‘Bolo Tara Tara’, he would take him to Mumbai.

According to Oberoi, the singer-songwriter not only gave him the opportunity to feature in his album, "Ho Jayegi Balle Balle" -- which marked his debut in the entertainment industry -- but also provided him with shelter and financial support.

“I stayed at his in-laws’ house and he gave me 12 cheques of Rs 10,000 each dated the first of every month. I’m grateful to him. I’m still in touch with him, and he was very happy about the success of ‘Dhurandhar’ and said he will write on his social media account about me being the model in his music video,” the actor said.

Later, Oberoi found work in television and was part of various TV shows like Ekta Kapoor's 'Itihaas', Anurag Basu’s 'Love Story', and Anubhav Sinha's 'Saturday Suspense'.

“When I came here in 1996, I had a well-sculpted body, was doing acting workshops and theatre, and thought this much was enough (to get work). There were hardly any casting agents then; I would drop pictures at the offices of filmmakers. I was picked up by Mr Lek Tandon for the serial called ‘Daraar’, and thereafter I was getting good offers on television,” he said.

However, over time, he moved into writing, production, making ad films, and music videos. He worked as an executive producer on films like 'Tum Bin', 'Singh is Kinng', 'Ferrari Ki Sawari', and as an associate producer on 'Be Happy'. He also served as a writer on the Marathi film, 'April May 99', which was released last year.

“I wanted to explore other things because in this industry, there is a lot of time at your disposal.

At some point, I wanted to get back to acting, but then it took a backseat for about 17-18 years,” Oberoi said, adding that the turning point came in 2018 when filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker encouraged him to return to acting and cast him in his movie, 'Panipat'.

Oberoi then continued theatre work and auditioned for various projects, via casting director Mukesh Chhabra.

It was through Chhabra that the actor landed a role in 'Dhurandhar' after multiple rounds of auditions and was asked to grow a long beard and shave his hair, to which he instantly agreed.

“I was told about the character, but once I was finalised, I was briefed about the script. I realised that this character needs a lot of quiet and silent moments, so I was just being myself,” he recalled.

After watching Oberoi’s performance in 'Dhurandhar', filmmaker Prashant Neel approached him for his upcoming film, 'Dragon', starring Jr NTR.

“He told me I was looking for this kind of character for my film for quite some time, and while I was watching ‘Dhurandhar’, I saw you and felt, ‘He's my man’,” the actor, who will be seen next in David Dhawan's "Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai", said.

What sets Oberoi’s journey apart is his endeavour to reinvent.

He added that he writes scripts every day and is preparing to release a music video that features him reciting his own poetry.

“I kept reinventing and working on myself. There was not a day when I was not working, maybe I was not getting paid, but the investments, which I made in myself, like doing theatre and workshops,” Oberoi said.