Project Ghazi is the first film in which I'm not the bad guy, says Aamir Qureshi

Project Ghazi finally released this March after a series of unfortunate events delayed its release.

While the film could've been much better, it was light years ahead of what the initial premiere had subjected its audience to. But one aspect we loved in both was the character Major Dilawar.

In the 2019 release, Aamir Qureshi's performance as Dilawar won us over, with both the character and his acting leaving a lasting impression on us.

While to us it appeared as though the actor fit his role like a glove, the actor tells Images he was actually surprised when he got a call from the film's director Nadir for the role.

"Getting the casting call for Major Dilawar was a bit of a surprise for me. I had never heard of or met Nadir before in my life. Apparently he had seen a music video I did back in 2006 -- before becoming an actor I was a musician -- he liked it a lot.

"I did a Canadian film Altered Skin, which was directed by Adnan Ahmed who's close friends with Nadir and he probably suggested me to him. Nadir called me, I had an audition, he had me read Salaar's character because Humayun Saeed wasn't onboard then, and I also read Dilawar's lines. In the end he thought I was more suited for Dilawar, I also liked the character because I did not see myself as Salaar."

About his character he says, "Dilawar is like Q from James Bond. He develops and customises the arms and gadgets for the team. He always wanted to be a soldier, to be on the field but is kept in the lab because his brain is more valuable than brawn. He's very patriotic, smart, strong and has a great sense of humour.

"One thing I kept in mind was to make [Dilawar] likeable because other characters were task-oriented, very serious, so I had to bring some sort of a contrast with Dilawar. I gave him a Punjabi accent, that was my idea to make him more relatable and likeable to the audience and he was a bit funny at times - Nadir approved of my idea."

His only regret is that he didn't build on his character's humour more. "I wish I could've done more wit," he says about developing his character. "Maybe added a bit more humour [to Dilawar]. Perhaps if you ask the director he would say he'd have given Dilawar more screen," laughs Aamir.

While Aamir has made his mark with Dilawar, he is not done playing the villainous characters as of yet as Aamir revealed that he is playing a villain again in upcoming Meera-starrer Baaji.

"Project Ghazi is the first film I've done in which I did not play the villain," he reveals. "Last year it was Saath Din Mohabbat In alongside Mahira Khan in which I was a villain, before that, Saya e Khuda e Zuljalal and now Saqib Malik's Baaji. Everyone cast me as an antagonist. It was [only] Nadir and who cast me in a positive character, so thanks to him I'd like to do more positive characters in my career."

Though the film didn't do so well at the box office, Aamir says he's "proud of my work and project. I'm getting positive reviews on my character," and that's what matters.

His take-away from the film is learning how to act on a green screen. "I had to focus on an object in the air which was not really there. That was definitely a learning process. Other than that it was a fun ride," he said.