Extraction actor Priyanshu Painyuli preps for his next with Taapsee Pannu and virtual play
Priyanshu Painyuli
As the antagonist in the month-old Netflix release, Extraction, Priyanshu Painyuli successfully broke the mould of being a boy-next-door. The actor, who is best known for his role in Vikramaditya Motwane-s Bhavesh Joshi, played the Bangladeshi don Amir Ali, Chris Hemsworth-s nemesis. Backed by the Russo Brothers, the film opened to a rapturous round of applause from the audience, who have inevitably shifted to OTT platforms for their Friday fix of entertainment.
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The actor tells mid-day, "It-s a paisa vasool film and picks you up if you are feeling low. When I auditioned [for it], I didn-t know it was a Russo Brothers- film. It-s not every day that you appear in a pivotal role in a film made by the people who made Avengers. Chris Hemsworth and David Harbour are huge stars and brilliant actors. It-s the kind of film that requires you to up your game. I couldn-t have asked for a better international debut."
With Extraction behind him, Painyuli says he harbours dreams of doing action on screen and it may come true with his next, Rashmi Rocket, headlined by Taapsee Pannu. "We were to shoot this month but it stands suspended for now. I play the role of an army officer. So, I ensure to workout regularly at home to avoid taking too long to attain the right level of fitness required for the film."
Amid the lockdown, the actor also seems to be busy with his virtual theatre act titled Lockdown Love. After the success of the English version, which saw him pair up with Shriya Pilgaonkar, Painyuli will feature in the Hinglish version of the same show with Radhika Madan, Kubbra Sait, Shikha Talsania, Siddharth Menon and Saurabh Nayar. "We are adapting a few more characters from the original play. It-s about three girls and three boys finding each other through a series of weird dates. Who would have thought that we-d be performing live for 45 minutes in front of our phone cameras? It is directed by Sheena Khalid and the story was adapted by Roshan Abbas from an old script, which was revisited and adapted from Jonathan Rand-s Check Please," explains the actor.
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