Sikandar Kher has paused to thank the people behind Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam, the courtroom drama built around the 26/11 Mumbai attacks trial. In the film, Kher plays Abbas Kazmi, the defence lawyer who represented Ajmal Kasab, while Rajkummar Rao stars as public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
Kher’s Instagram note is a rare shift from release-day noise: it is less about promotion and more about the relationships that carried him through the part.
A note of gratitude
Kher began with “Prahaar – A few thoughts and a lot of love.” His warmest words were for director Avinash Arun, whom he called his “pillar of strength” professionally and personally. Kher said Arun saw him not only as an actor but as a person, and that the faith would stay with him.
“You see me brother,” Kher wrote, adding that he was grateful the two men’s journeys crossed paths. He also thanked producer Dinesh Vijan and Maddock Films for trusting him with the role.
The team behind the performance
Kher made the note a proper credit list. Among the people he acknowledged:
- Avinash Arun — the director Kher calls his “pillar of strength”.
- Dinesh Vijan and Maddock Films — for giving him the opportunity.
- Rajkummar Rao — a performance Kher calls “career defining”.
- Abbas Kazmi — the real lawyer who met him and shared his story.
He also thanked Lalit Prabhakar, Ashish Vidyarthi, Ajinkya Deo, Jaideep Ahlawat, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ritvik Sahore.
Why Abbas Kazmi was hard
Kher admitted that Abbas Kazmi was “not an easy character to play.” A defence lawyer in the 26/11 trial had to argue against public emotion, and Kher said that was a challenge. But he added that the work became enjoyable with Rao as his scene partner.
He described Rao’s performance as “career defining” and said he had “front row seats” to it. Kher also pointed to the value of meeting the real Kazmi, who shared a chapter of his life with the actor before the cameras rolled.
Why it matters for fans
For fans of Hindi cinema, posts like this show what a difficult real-life role demands. Playing a figure such as Kazmi asks an actor to make the audience sit with someone they may want to dismiss. That is a different kind of tension from a fictional villain, and it depends on the ensemble around the lead.
For viewers still catching the film, the note also serves as a guide to what to watch for: the exchanges between Nikam and Kazmi, the real lawyer’s tics, and the supporting turns around Rao. It is uncommon for an actor to publicly credit a real-life figure he portrayed, especially one at the centre of a polarising trial. That Kher did so is likely to push curious viewers toward the film’s courtroom scenes.
Source: Bollywood Hungama