‘Playing urban character in Phantom refreshing’

He wore his heart on the sleeves as best friend in Raanjhanaa and played the small town boy in Tanu Weds Manu Returns, but Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub says his role in Phantom is a departure from his previous parts.

The actor plays <g data-gr-id="25">a RAW</g> agent in the Saif Ali Khan-Katrina Kaif <g data-gr-id="30">starrer</g> thriller, directed by Kabir Khan of Bajrangi Bhaijaan fame.

“In Phantom I play a very neat and urban character. It was a good change as I have never done a neat character in Bollywood, who is well educated, smart, speaks English, wears good clothes and is prim and proper. “This is in complete contrast to the characters I have mostly played who usually hail from small towns and are a little rough even though sweet,” he told a <g data-gr-id="33">media</g> person.

Phantom is scheduled to release on August 28. Zeeshan will also be seen as a comical villain in Abhishek Bachchan-Rishi Kapoor <g data-gr-id="23">starrer</g> All Is Well, which opened this Friday.

The actor said juggling both the films together, with starkly different characters, was exciting. 

“The shift between the comical and the serious characters was exciting. Sometimes, I used to wrap up the shoot of All Is Well, where I did a lot of physical <g data-gr-id="32">comedy</g> and then on my way get into the zone of my other character for ‘Phantom’, which was completely different.” 

The actor, who made his debut in 2011 with No One Killed Jessica, says it was Anand L Rai’s Raanjhanaa in 2013, which was a turning point in his career. .

“No One Killed Jessica was my entry into the industry as an actor. Jannat 2 made me famous in B-centre audience. But it was Raanjhanaa which was the turning point. It gave me a larger audience and placed me at a secure platform,” the actor said.