Mumbai: Aparshakti Khurana has officially entered his villainy era with the upcoming ambitious massy action film, Gunmaaster G9. As the film is in its robust production stage, director Aditya Datt revealed his first choice to play a chilling villain was Aparshakti Khurana. “He was on top of my list,” says Datt.
"We were looking out for a villain. We thought to ourselves, ‘How do we break out?’ When you're doing these commercial action films, the villain is usually there with certain cliches that you want to break away from, on screen. You can't go away from the cliches but you try to. That’s where we wanted to put effort,” reveals the director, explaining why he picked Khurana.
He describes the Jubilee star as an immediate choice for the villainy role. "Aparshakti has never played an out-and-out commercial and crazy-ass villain. This was the thought behind going for him. I have seen many of his projects. I thought he was amazing in ‘Jubilee.’ He nailed his role in the series. Many of his performances are stuck in my head. So when I wanted to pick the villain, he was the man for me. He was on top of my list. I gave him a call. I knew he’d do justice to the role.”
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Aug 21, 2026But what kind of action can audiences expect? Datt says, “I was very clear about not making a mindless action movie, given I also have such a brilliant cast with Emraan, Aparshakti and Genelia. I believe action makes sense when the emotions behind it are strong. I wanted the audience to understand and realize why the hero is going and beating up 10 people. It has to have a strong emotional intent. Otherwise, it's another gimmicky piece. I would call ‘Gunmaaster G9’ a musical drama action film.”
Delving more into it, he continues, "It is going to be a very sleek and massy kind of action. I designed the sequences myself while writing. I designed the action to look good."
Gunmaaster G9 promises thrilling action sequences and high-stakes drama, and it strikes a nostalgic chord by reuniting Emraan Hashmi and Himesh Reshammiya. And with Aparshakti Khurana bringing in the dread as a dreadful villain, the stakes will surely be at a high!
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Aug 21, 2026Though the film’s release date is yet to be locked, the makers are eyeing a Dussehra 2026 release!
