However, the film’s true secret weapon is its deep bench of veteran character actors. Naseeruddin Shah, as the retired, wheelchair-bound intelligence mastermind Tariq Ali, provides the film with its moral and strategic anchor. In just a few scenes, Shah infuses the narrative with gravitas and a weary wisdom that spans decades of Indian political history. His quiet, almost playful delivery of sharp truths serves as the counterpoint to Bajpayee’s rigid discipline, suggesting that true aiyaary (deception) is an art of the patient and the old. Similarly, the late Om Puri, in one of his final film appearances, delivers a poignant performance as the principled Colonel Mukesh Kapoor. Puri’s naturalism and pathos lend weight to the film’s critique of a corrupt system, and his scenes are imbued with a bittersweet sense of an era ending.
At the heart of Aiyaary is the towering confrontation between two generations of officers, embodied by Manoj Bajpayee and Sidharth Malhotra. Colonel Abhay Singh (Bajpayee) is the establishment’s unwavering pillar—a man who believes in the system even as he acknowledges its cracks. Bajpayee delivers a performance of simmering restraint and volcanic authority. His deep, gravelly voice and piercing eyes convey decades of sacrifice, frustration, and a fatherly disappointment that transcends mere military discipline. In contrast, Major Jatin Sharma (Malhotra) is the idealist who has seen too much. Malhotra, often criticized for boyish charm, here sheds his glamorous image to portray a man burdened by conscience. While his performance lacks Bajpayee’s lived-in texture, it successfully captures the righteous anger and vulnerability of a protégé forced to rebel against his mentor. Their scenes together are not just action beats but philosophical duels, and the casting elevates the film from a standard chase thriller to a meditation on loyalty. cast of aiyaary
"Aiyaary" is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Karan Razdan and produced by Ajay Bhardwaj. The movie features a talented ensemble cast, including some of the most renowned actors in the Indian film industry. However, the film’s true secret weapon is its
Jai's mentor and the head of the covert unit DSD (Data System Diagnostics), who is tasked with tracking down his former student. His quiet, almost playful delivery of sharp truths
The film relies on a multi-star cast to drive its complex narrative of cat-and-mouse chase between mentor and protégé.