‘Raazi’ actor Ashwath Bhatt assaulted by robber in Istanbul: 'I was so shocked'

Ashwath Bhatt’s most memorable character so far was in Meghna Gulzar’s ‘Raazi’ starring Alia Bhatt where he essayed the role of Mehboob Syed, a Pakistani Army officer

Seasoned actor Ashwath Bhatt, who recently visited Turkey, in Istanbul was assaulted by a robber. Sharing his distressing ordeal, Ashwath, who went abroad for a short vacation was attacked by a gang at Galata Tower, in the Beyoglu district. The actor asserted that despite being warned by friends about the same, he did not expect the magnitude at which he encountered it. 

In an interaction with ETimes, Ashwath shared, "I was walking towards Galata Tower when a man approached me. He had a chain in his hand, and before I could fully comprehend what was happening, he hit me on the back with it. In retrospect, it was likely a gang working in tandem, trying to snatch my bag. For a second, I was so shocked - what's happening? But I think they weren't expecting me to resist and put up a fight.”

The actor mentioned that thanks to a cab driver who stopped and intervened, the robber who was snatching his bag fled. The cabbie saw Ashwath’s wound and advised him to approach the police. He came across a patrol car and was asked to report the incident to the tourist police, who then directed him to another police station. 

Ashwath added, "It's unfortunate that such a thing happened, especially in such a touristy area. People often advise not to get involved and not to report to the police. That word 'unnecessary' troubles me. People watch films and think Turkey is all romantic, but if we don't report crime, these incidents will only increase. Everybody warned me about pickpockets, but this was beyond anything I had imagined.”

Ashwath is a National School of Drama alumni and has graduated from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Hammersmith. He has been a part of films like ‘Haider’, ‘Phantom’, ‘Raazi’, ‘Kesari’, ‘Sita Ramam’, and ‘Mission Majnu’ to name a few. 

Ashwath’s most memorable character so far was in Meghna Gulzar’s ‘Raazi’ starring Alia Bhatt where he essayed the role of Mehboob Syed. In an interview with India Today, he shared, “Mehboob is very persistent and that's the word that was given to me as an initial brief for the character. He is the backbone of the family. Unfortunately, those bits did not make it to the film where you could get to know Mehboob's backstory.”

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