Mumbai, Apr 5 After nearly three decades of hard work and reinvention, actor-producer-writer Bimal Oberoi, who played Shirani, the leader of the Baloch, is finally getting the recognition he deserves, and he credits it to one film, “Dhurandhar”.
Oberoi played a small but crucial role in Aditya Dhar’s two-part spy thriller “Dhurandhar”. The first film was released in December 2025, followed by the second installment on March 19, which has already grossed over Rs 1,500 crore at the global box office.
“What ‘Dhurandhar’ has done for me and other actors is what one comes here for: recognition. It’s been a blessing,” Oberoi told
The 54-year-old has previously appeared in supporting roles in films and OTT shows like “Tiger 3”, “Panipat”, “Bard of Blood” and “Mukhbir: The Story of a Spy”.
“Dhurandhar” follows the story of Ranveer Singh’s character, Hamza Ali Mazari, an undercover Indian agent tasked with his most dangerous mission: infiltrating the criminal and political underworld of Karachi.
Social media is buzzing with memes calling Oberoi the “Blinkit of Balochistan”, thanks to his character Shirani’s ability to deliver everything from heavy weapons to classified intelligence with the same speed as the delivery service company.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Oberoi simply said, and credited Dhar for “beautifully” writing and “casting” his character in the film, for which he only shot for 10 to 13 days.
“I had just a few scenes, most of them involved dialogue with Ranveer, mostly about the kids in the first part. Otherwise, I had mostly one-word dialogues like ‘Ho jayega’ (it will happen), ‘Kar denge’ (we will do it),” Oberoi said in a lighter vein.
He also credited how every character in the film had “ample space to make an impact”.
“What I appreciate about this film is that most of the characters, whatever scenes were shot with them, have been retained. It’s only because it’s been made into two parts that all the characters come across very well. There’s ample space for every actor to make an impact.”
After working briefly as a medical representative in Mumbai, Oberoi met Daler Mehndi in Amritsar in the early 90s through a common friend. The renowned Indian singer promised him that after the release of his first album, ‘Bolo Tara Tara’, he would take him to Mumbai.
According to Oberoi, the singer-songwriter not only gave him the opportunity to feature in his album, "Ho Jayegi Balle Balle" -- which marked his debut in the entertainment industry -- but also provided him with shelter and financial support.
“I stayed at his in-laws’ house and he gave me 12 cheques of Rs 10,000 each, dated the first of every month. I’m very grateful to him. I’m still in touch with him, and he was very happy about the success of ‘Dhurandhar’ and said he would write about me in his social media account as the model in his music video,” Oberoi said.
Later, Oberoi found work in television and was part of various TV shows like Ekta Kapoor's “Itihaas”, Anurag Basu’s “Love Story”, and Anubhav Sinha's “Saturday Suspense”.
“When I came here in 1996, I had a well-sculpted body, was doing acting workshops and theatre, and thought this was enough (to get work). There were hardly any casting agents then; I would drop pictures at the offices of filmmakers. I was picked up by Mr Lek Tandon for the serial called ‘Daraar’, and thereafter I was getting good offers on television,” he said.
However, over time, he moved into writing, production, making ad films, and music videos. He worked as an executive producer on films like “Tum Bin”, “Singh is Kinng”, “Ferrari Ki Sawari”, and as an associate producer on “Be Happy”. He also served as a writer on the Marathi film, “April May 99”, which was released last year.
“I wanted to explore other things because in this industry, there is a lot of time at your disposal.”
At some point, I wanted to get back to acting, but then it took a backseat for about 17-18 years,” Oberoi said, adding that the turning point came in 2018 when filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker encouraged him to return to acting and cast him in his movie, “Panipat”.
Oberoi then continued theatre work and auditioned for various projects, via casting director Mukesh Chhabra.
It was through Chhabra that the actor landed a role in “Dhurandhar” after multiple rounds of auditions and was asked to grow a long beard and shave his hair, to which he instantly agreed.
“I was told about the character, but once I was finalised, I was briefed about the script. I realised that this character needs a lot of quiet and silent moments, so I was just being myself,” he recalled.
After watching Oberoi’s performance in “Dhurandhar”, filmmaker Prashant Neel approached him for his upcoming film, “Dragon”, starring Jr NTR.
“He told me I was looking for this kind of a character for my film for quite some time, and while I was watching ‘Dhurandhar’, I saw you and felt, ‘He’s my man’,” the actor, who will be seen next in David Dhawan's "Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai", said.
What sets Oberoi’s journey apart is his endeavour to reinvent.
He added that he writes scripts every day and is preparing to release a music video that features him reciting his own poetry.
“I kept reinventing and working on myself. There was not a day when I was not working, maybe I was not getting paid, but the investments, which I made on myself, like doing theatre and workshops,” Oberoi said.