Mithila Palkar On Imran Khan’s Hiatus, Reveals If He Was Misunderstood: 'Those Speculations...' | Exclusive

Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos marks a turning point for Mithila Palkar as she steps away from her girl-next-door image and into a high-energy spy action comedy. Directed by Vir Das and Kavi Shastri and produced by Aamir Khan Productions, the film stars Aamir Khan, Vir Das, Mithila Palkar, Mona Singh, Sachin Shetty, and Srushti Tawade, and released in theatres on January 16, 2026.

Beyond the action and humour, the film also holds personal significance for Mithila. She reunites with Imran Khan, who is making his return to films after a 10-year break. Happy Patel was Imran’s last film before he stepped away from Bollywood and Mithila’s first Hindi film, making the collaboration feel especially nostalgic.

In an exclusive conversation with CNN-News18,

Mithila talks about the unconventional audition process, working with debutant director Vir Das, performing her own stunts, breaking out of her comfort zone, and why she’s happy to celebrate Imran Khan’s comeback rather than dwell on past speculation. Here are excerpts from the interview:

How was the audition process like for Happy Patel?
I was approached by a casting director for this project. I met him, and usually the process involves the casting director conducting the audition, after which the clips are reviewed by the director and others. However, this time was different. He told me about the project and shared the synopsis, which is what you see reflected in the trailer. He also gave me a brief about my character, again what you see in the trailer. He mentioned that the only condition was that the director wanted to keep the reveal a secret. So, I had a home call with the casting director, with the projectors on, and we read a few scenes. That was pretty much it. A month, or a little more than a month later, I was informed that I had been selected.

It is Vir Das’ directorial debut. What was he like on set? Was he nervous stepping into this new role, or was he cracking jokes as usual?
If you know Vir, then whatever you see of him is exactly how he is — funny, witty, and always good to be around. Even if he was nervous. I’m sure there was a lot happening behind the scenes. Of course, there’s a lot of stress and pressure on a director to get through the day and finish everything, and he also had to juggle being both an actor and a director. So I’m sure he had his fair share of pressure and stress. That said, he was a lot of fun to work with.

Any memorable anecdotes from the set that stayed with you?
This was a no-phone set, so we didn’t use our phones while working. It actually pushed us to talk to each other more and build real connections. It inspired conversations and helped us become friends, creating a strong sense of community on set, where everyone had come together to make a film. Today, I feel proud and privileged to say that all of these people are now friends I can truly call my own. That’s been the highlight for me.

You have an action-packed role in the film. From what we hear, you performed most of the stunts yourself. What made you take that call, and how was the experience?
First of all, I love learning new things. I had never gotten an opportunity like this before, so I thought, what better way to start? All the action sequences were fully choreographed, and I was really glad to be part of most of them. As for the training process, we had rehearsals — really intense ones. They sent me the complete choreographed sequence in advance, along with a video showing how the action would look. Then I would go in for rehearsals, do warm-ups and exercises, and slowly start learning the movements, almost like dance steps. They taught me one step at a time.

Did you sustain any injuries during training or while shooting those action sequences?Thankfully, I didn’t get hurt at all. I have to give full credit to the stunt team — they were very careful and made sure I wore elbow pads, knee pads, and all the necessary safety gear. Safety always came first. I was always asked whether I was comfortable doing the action. Before anything else, they sent me a video saying, “This is going to be your action sequence. Are you okay with it?” And obviously, if I had felt that this was something I couldn’t do or that it seemed too difficult, I had the liberty and freedom to say no. But I managed. I trained with my gym trainer, who is one of my closest friends. He usually teaches me things like handstands, headstands, and capoeira.

So while I do my weight training and bodyweight training, I also enjoy learning new skills. That really came in handy because I’m anyway very keen on learning more skills. I felt that if I was able to do this, then nothing like it. Both of us were excited that I was getting this opportunity, and we customised our training accordingly. He’s very good at that, so he really helped tailor the preparation for the action sequences.

Your character Rupa cusses a lot on screen, which is very different from your real-life persona. Was that awkward initially?
You know, the fact that she also cusses on screen, which is so different from how people see me, made it a bit awkward at first. She does very hardcore cussing, while my cuss words are very limited in real life. So it was difficult because I was like, yeh toh pata hi chalne wala hai ki yeh mujhe nahi aa raha hai. But I decided to just surrender to the character, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. This is like living vicariously through another person, na — and that’s exactly what it was. I lived vicariously through Rupa.

Are you worried that Happy Patel might break your girl-next-door image?
Absolutely not. I am happy that people will see a different side of me. I will be doing something new so I am very excited. I am looking forward to hear from people what they think of it. I never felt boxed in with this image because I loved playing the girl-next-door characters. It felt more instinctive to me but I would want to challenge myself more as an actor now. That is the only way I will learn because I haven’t gone to an acting school.

You are also working with Imran Khan, who is making his return to films after a long break. Given that this was his last film back then and your first Bollywood film, did the experience feel nostalgic in any way?
Oh, 100%. It was his last film back then and my first Bollywood film ever, so it was really, really sweet that I got to be on a film set that he’s making a comeback to after 10 years. I mean, not a lot has changed — he’s still the smart, witty, approachable guy that he always was. What has changed is that he’s back, and I really hope he’s here to stay. I would love to watch him in a lot more films now.

Imran Khan walked away from films at the peak of his career. Did you ever get a chance to ask him personally why he chose to step away?
No, I didn’t, because he has been very open about it. He’s spoken about it in interviews, so everybody already knows. I never really sat down with him to ask him that personally.

Do you feel Imran Khan was misunderstood as an actor when he first stepped away from Bollywood?
I mean, those kinds of speculations exist whether you continue to work in the industry or not. There are perpetual speculations about actors. Anybody who lives a public life has people speculating about them. So I didn’t think too much about it. Also, I’ve worked with Imran and I’ve known him because I know a lot of the family — they’re friends. So I feel like speculation is something everyone does. For me, I’m just happy that he’s back in films, doing what we love seeing him do, and I would rather focus on celebrating that. That’s my view.