'I Still Tell People I'm Influenced Easily—I'm Not An Influencer,' Says Actor Arif Zakaria

When I compliment Arif Zakaria on the thick-rimmed black glasses that are perched comfortably on his aquiline nose, he quips, “I thought if nothing works in the interview, at least my glasses will shine.”

But the flooded-with-work Arif has enough arsenal to go full blast in the conversation… just like he does onscreen. The actor's latest OTT show, Special Ops 2.0, has its loyal band of followers and he will once again be playing Jinnah with aplomb in Freedom At Midnight Season 2.

Excerpts from the interview:

In your latest OTT show Special Ops 2.0, you are a new addition to an already established cast from its first season (Kay Kay, Karan Tacker, Vinay Pathak, Saiyami Kher). Does that make it difficult for you to make an impression?

No, not really. The franchise is hugely popular, so when I was asked to play that part, I was thrilled. I've been in the business and I know most of the actors like Karan and Muzamil Ibrahim. I have also worked with a few of them. It's never too difficult to blend in because it's a very professional, well-oiled franchise.

Was the cast welcoming?

My character is not threatening their character, so it is good. They were all great professionals. We did good work on the set and we also hung around after work hours.

And director Neeraj Pandey is a master at this genre. Very clear-cut, very precise and such great technical know-how. We shot in Georgia and Budapest -- difficult terrain and difficult shoots but it all went off seamlessly.

Have you visited these places before?

No, I hadn't been to Budapest before this.

When you shoot at a foreign locale, do you get to experience the place?

I do tend to make time. Fortunately, for this project I had a lot of days off because they shot location wise -- so all actors shot until they finished off with that location. I had a good time exploring Budapest -- it's beautiful with lots of historic heritage buildings and great sights. Highly recommended. It has a laid-back vibe with cafes and a relatively good night life. And cheap!

Cogent description. And how would you describe yourself? Are you laid-back?

I can be laidback. When you experience anything new, you have to sync your system with it. So you meander around and nobody bothers you. You could be sitting on a bench, doing nothing for hours.

We also shot in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. It's beautiful; historic yet also modern. Georgians are very friendly.

As a freelance actor who has worked for 40 years, do you ever have to self-motivate or are you always motivated?

You have to self motivate in the last few years to stay relevant. Look at the pace at which things are changing with the onset of the digital world! So the challenge is to keep yourself updated, to try and do things in a way which leaves an impression.

I have a presence on Instagram but I don't make reels. I don’t post unless it's work because I don't have the personality profile yet. I still tell people I'm influenced easily, I'm not an influencer. But I'm trying to keep abreast and I'm slowly changing into an influencer.

Speaking of tech, in Special Ops 2 you play a scientist who's part of the digital revolution. Are you digitally up to date?

My character Dr. Bhargav is a brilliant AI scientist who is a pioneer of the UPI interface system and is helping the Indian government. In the big opening scene, he creates a hologram or a duplicate of himself on AI. Obviously, I can't do that. But I'm pretty tech-savvy. I can get my message across digitally, and navigate through the problems of my life and find a solution digitally (laughs).

Both director Neeraj Pandey and you come from a film backdrop. What is it about OTT that makes it compelling for cinema people?

I think it's an extension of the same platform. But the travesty of doing OTT is that if it's not good, people could binge watch you on Saturday and forget you by Monday morning. They've moved on, and there's some other show, some other actor occupying their mind space.

We all grappling with shorter shelf lives. When I was a student, I started acting with Doordarshan TV shows like ‘Chunauti’ and ‘Amanat’ and everybody remembered those shows because those were the only shows hitting your psyche. But now you won't remember any TV show unless it was a very big show for 5-6 years.

Is OTT a boon for actors of a certain age to showcase their potential at a time when cinema offers few such opportunities?

Yes, it offers much better scope because of its stretched out format. It gives makers time to expand the story, and play around with a lot of interesting characters.

You are currently filming another streaming series -- Mandalam.

I'm leaving for Bareilly to shoot for it soon. I play the main antagonist in this show. It’s based in a fictional town in North India and it captures the politics, the good versus evil battle there.

Freedom at Midnight is coming up with Season 2. What will be different in your portrayal of Jinnah?

The second season covers the brutality of the Partition time till Gandhi's assassination. Those 7-8 months were very turbulent. Jinnah’s character is a little older, and unwell because the cancer is more active. So, it's the same character with different degrees of physicality.

Which films are you currently working on?

There's Faraar made by debutant director Kushagra Sharma, which we shot in Bangkok. I play a lawyer while Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the husband of a kidnapped woman.

Amarg is an arthouse film being by seasoned writer Miraq Mirza. Absolutely no money. He wrote it well so we all helped him make his first film. I play a schizophrenic character and you are kept guessing whether he is a murderer or not.

Heer Sara Aur Pondicherry is a beautiful coming-of-age film of two rebellious girls in Indore. I play the father. It's about a clash of cultures and values and is directed by debutant Kartik Chaudhry.

You work with many debutant directors.

I like working with them. There are less issues. They get scared of my experience. You can intimidate them (laughs) ... I'm kidding. No, it’s just that they come up with good stories.

You first made your mark playing unconventional roles in Darmiyan, in which you played a Transgender, and Dance Like A Man. In retrospect has this helped or limited your career?

I don't know. I don't look at it that way. When you start acting, you tell yourself, ‘I want to do challenging roles’. So when the challenge came, why should I back out? My only regret is that these films should have had a better release.

What would you consider your best work?

Nobody will have watched some of them (laughs). Darmiyaan, Dance Like A Man, Nanakshah Fakir, Haunted 3D, Raazi would be my top 5. And I enjoyed working in Freedom At Midnight and also Ahan on Netflix which was about this boy with Down Syndrome … this was much before Sitaare Zameen Par.

What is Arif Zakaria’s lifeline when he's not working?

Good question. Mornings, I play tennis at the Bandra Gymkhana. Then I have work-related meetings or I'm at home, surfing, writing, reading.

Love life?

I'm single right now. I used to be married. I have a son who is studying abroad. So love life is always on the lookout (laughs). I'm happy and content.

Published on: Sunday, October 26, 2025, 07:30 AM IST