Sajjad Delafrooz: I don’t call them villainous roles, but character roles

In an exclusive interview with The Pioneer, the Freddy actor Sajjad Delafrooz not only takes us through his journey but also talks about playing negative characters, being typecast as a villain, and much more.

Tejal Sinha

Of all the prominent stars that we currently see in the Bollywood industry, Sajjad Delafrooz has been someone who has left a huge impression through his phenomenal performances. He is not only a handsome hunk but also a talented actor who has entertained moviegoers with his stellar performances.

Those who live and breathe Bollywood may recognise Sajjad Delafrooz as a doctor in Akshay Kumar’s Baby, but his roles as a merciless terrorist Abu Usman in Tiger Zinda Hai and Hafiz Ali in Special Ops have earned him thousands of new fans. Looking back on his life, Sajjad has come a long way from his humble beginnings in a small village near Shiraz in Iran to learning Hindi in an Indian neighborhood, coming to India, and appearing in Indian films. Not only is Sajjad a talented actor, but he also writes poetry.

The Baby actor says, “I have always liked watching cricket and Indian films. Back in those days, it was taboo to watch Indian films, especially in the neighbourhood I grew up in.I loved watching Indian films and listening to Indian songs because I could feel something different than how we talk; as soon as they were happy, they were dancing, and as soon as they fell in love, they would dance and sing, so it was very interesting for me. I learned a bit of culture there, but when I came to India, of course, I lived and breathed this culture, and I became a part of it, and it became a part of me as well. It’s been an interesting journey, and I am learning more and more.”

When asked about the obstacle that he had faced during his formative years, Sajjad says that the obstacle is always the same for every artist, which is recognition no matter how talented you are.

Hailing from Iran, he manages to speak Hindi so well in the films that we couldn’t stop asking him about it, and he says, “When I came to India, I started learning and talking in Hindi. Even when people spoke in English, I would respond in Hindi.”

Whether a terrorist Abu Usman in Tiger Zinda Hai and Hafiz Ali in Special Ops, does he think twice about whether he would be playing a negative or villainous character? He says, “I don’t think twice, and one of the main reasons is because I don’t call them villainous roles. I just call it a character role because you have more room to add to the character in this case, and I can challenge myself. I love challenging myself to do a different role, which is far from me in real life.”

So is he afraid of being typecast as a villain in the projects? He says, “Yes, it’s there, and if you look at the roles I’ve done so far, you know that I am typecast (he laughs), but I don’t have a fear reason for why I play those negative characters. What happens is that I try to play them differently, which shows that they are not the same. They are negative, but they are different. That difference can position the actor as a character.”

He believes that the turning point in his life was when he decided to leave his corporate job and get into acting because he wanted to do something that he really enjoyed.
As the actor is currently seen in Kartik Aaryan’s film Freddy, he says,“Kartik is a humble, down-to-earth person, and Alaya is a sweetheart. I had a good time working with them.

In a character, it’s always what can I add to the character and what can I add on the screen—of course Kartik and Shashank were there, and imagining Kartik in that whole dark world for me is very interesting.”

Hailing from Iran, ultimately, the actor also spoke about the on-going protest in Iran and shared, “I want to clear this point. I hear many people calling it an anti-hijab protest, which is not right. Forcing someone to wear a head scarf is the same as forcing someone who believes in hijab to remove it. If we look at the slogan, it means women’s life freedom, because women in Iran under this government do not get their rights, even the most basic rights, because despite being a rich country with all the natural resources, poverty is high, and at the end it’s freedom, of course there’s no freedom of speech there, and as you know, so many people out there are in jail, so it’s the protest that started with women. I had heard about people risking their lives many times in my life, but I had never experienced or understood the feeling when someone said that until I went on the street with the protest and saw police attacking and shooting, but what gave me courage was seeing young girls, perhaps 15 to 22 years old, how brave they were standing in front of guns and still fought with government people.They are definitely teaching a bravery lesson to the whole world, and I believe we all do.”