Ken Ghosh: Mridul Das has given a deadly performance in 'State Of Siege: Temple Attack'

Mridul Das and Ken Ghosh on the sets of `State Of Siege: Temple Attack` (Photo/PR)

Actor Mridul Das, who was previously seen in 'Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2' and 'Bombers', will now be seen in 'State Of Siege: Temple Attack'. The actor will play a terrorist on the ZEE5 show, which starts streaming from July 9. Directed by Ken Ghosh and produced by Abhimanyu Singh of Contiloe Pictures, the show is headlined by Akshaye Khanna, Gautam Rode, among others.

Talking about Mridul Das, Ken Ghosh said, "Mridul has done a deadly performance (pun intended). People will remember him after this film. He will completely shine in the character and has done complete justice to the role."

Mridul revealed, "The makers were auditioning for the character of Farooq for almost 3-4 months and must have auditioned at least 150 to 200 actors. Despite the fact that many actors were shortlisted but still, the perfect one was not finalized for Farooq. At that time I was doing 'Kasautii Zindagii Kay' and as I was under contract with them I wasn't able to audition for any other project. Unfortunately, some actors from the show got contracted Covid, and therefore, the show was abruptly stopped. And so, I got a chance to audition. By the time I went for the audition it was already late, however, they allowed me to give one."

Also Read: Tales of the siege: 26/11 scars continue to leave a mark on screen

He continues, "I delved into the character, who was a psychotic, sadistic man. After clearing three rounds of auditions, the top five shortlisted actors got to meet Ken sir! Ken sir looked at me gave me a couple of lines to perform and then while performing he stopped me in between, only to tell me I have been finalised. It was after months of auditioning 200 actors, he finally found his Farooq!"

'State Of Siege: Temple Attack' is the second season of the series that started with the eight-episode 'State of Siege: 26/11' last year. While the first season was about the operation of the National Security Guards (NSG) following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, "Temple Attack" trains focus on the terror strike on Akshardham Temple. On September 24, 2002, two armed men attacked the Swaminarayan Akshardham complex at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, killing 30 people and injured over 80. The NSG ended the siege a day later, killing both assailants.

The show marks Akshaye's digital debut as an NSG officer and releases on July 9 on Zee5.

Also Read: Gautam Rode: It was a physically and emotionally challenging role to play