New Delhi [India], September 8 (ANI): Nikkhil Advani says 34 years in the industry have given him the confidence to approach actors with challenging roles and expect them to trust his vision.
Speaking to ANI about his upcoming series 'The Revolutionaries', the filmmaker said he would have been “heartbroken” if the young cast had refused to come on board.
“I would have been heartbroken if they had said no. I feel I’ve worked hard for 34 years, enough to reach a point where, if I go to an actor with a role, they say yes,” Advani said.
The director said he was particularly drawn to the young actors because they had “fire” in them.
The demanding preparation for the series included workshops, readings and physical transformations, with Rohit Saraf changing his look three times and Bhuvan Bam six times.
“I just saw young people who had fire in them- especially because, for a year, they couldn’t do anything else. Rohit had to change his look three times; Bhuvan changed his six times. There were workshops, readings… The characters were written by the writers, but we all came together and gave our inputs. Everyone put their own little piece into the characters, and that’s how they evolved,” he said.
For Advani, 'The Revolutionaries' also represents an attempt to spotlight a lesser-known chapter of India’s freedom struggle.
Explaining why he chose the project, he said the story covers a period that he believes is often left out of conventional accounts of Indian history.
“It’s that part of history that I feel we left out. In the history books we’ve read about Mangal Pandey and Rani Lakshmibai, and then we seem to skip straight to Jallianwala Bagh. But this particular story, of Rash Behari Bose, Sachindranath Sanyal, Pratibha, Bagha Jatin and so many others, is what led to the spark that eventually ignited the revolution."
The filmmaker said history remains his “comfort zone”, citing Chatterjee vs Norway, Airlift and Mumbai Diaries as projects that allowed him to work with real-life events and characters.
“It’s my comfort zone. Whether it’s Chatterjee vs Norway, Airlift, or Mumbai Diaries, I love the fact that I get to document real-life events, real-life characters and real-life stories.”
Advani also acknowledged the challenges of recreating history for audiences who may have differing interpretations of events. He said his focus is on getting the central idea right while ensuring that the story remains entertaining.
“Main thoda sarfira hoon. It’s very tough. Koi na koi uthega aur kahega, ‘Aisa toh hua nahi hai, phir aap aisa kyun dikha rahe ho?’ But what I try to do is get the idea right.”
He added that the series is ultimately intended to entertain audiences while conveying its central premise about the fight against British rule.
“The idea was that the British had enslaved us ruthlessly for 200 years, and they needed to be driven out. They needed to be removed from this country. Gurfateh’s dialogue is beautiful: ‘Hamara desh hai, hum unhe din dahaade maarenge,'" he said.
“So, at the end of the day, I should be allowed to entertain. Mujhe aapko entertain karna hai. Aap nahi dekhoge agar main entertain nahi karunga,” he added.
The trailer for 'The Revolutionaries' was released on August 26. The period drama follows four young revolutionaries- Rash Behari Bose, Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Pratibha Lahiri and Bagha Jatin- as they lead an armed resistance against the British Raj.
The series stars Bhuvan Bam, Rohit Saraf, Pratibha Ranta and Gurfateh Pirzada in the lead roles, with Jason Shah, Paoli Dam and Tota Roy Chowdhury in key roles. It is based on Sanjeev Sanyal’s book Revolutionaries: The Other Story Of How India Won Its Freedom.
Produced by Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani under the Emmay Entertainment banner, The Revolutionaries will premiere worldwide on Prime Video on September 11, 2026. (ANI)
Nikkhil Advani says 34 years of work have earned him the confidence to approach actors with demanding roles
