From stars to spies: Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan turn deadly in 'Citadel: Honey Bunny'

Mumbai: Playing a super spy in a high-octane, stunt-filled series is on every actor’s bucket list, says Bollywood star Varun Dhawan, who is set to debut in his first action-packed show, Citadel: Honey Bunny. But it was seasoned actor Saif Ali Khan who helped Dhawan see the iconic appeal of this role.

“I remember talking to Saif Ali Khan, who had just finished working on Agent Vinod. He told me it had been his boyhood dream to play a suave, stylish spy,” Dhawan shared in an interview with Gulf News in Mumbai.

“Trust me, every actor wants to play a spy at some point. But I’m glad I get to play one in 2024, where spies are imagined in more realistic settings and situations.”

In this highly anticipated, explosive series, directed by Raj & DK of The Family Man fame and premiering on Prime Video on November 7, Dhawan joins hands with South Indian superstar Samantha Ruth Prabhu as they work together to save the day—and the world—from global threats. Similar to the Hollywood spy hit Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, these two trigger-happy assassins share an undeniable spark and connection. Samantha, who plays Honey, is Bunny’s (Dhawan) estranged better half. Set in the 1990s, Bunny is a stuntman by day but a lethal spy by night. He enlists aspiring actress Honey to be part of his mission after she’s down and out from a failed audition.

“This series is very intelligent and relevant in its writing. It’s set in the 1990s, an era when sometimes the good guy is actually the bad guy. It was a time when fake news and perception ruled. This series plays on the idea that what looks good and shiny from the outside could actually be the most dangerous thing, while what appears dangerous might be trying to save you,” Dhawan explained. “This series teases you on a psychological level.”

The series is the origin story of Nadia, played by Priyanka Chopra in the U.S. version of Citadel. It’s also co-produced by Joe and Anthony Russo, the creators of the Citadel series. While the show—also starring seasoned talents like Kay Kay Menon and Dubai -based dancer Kashvi Majmundar—will appeal to an international audience, the director-duo was particular about subverting the usual tropes attached to a spy series.

“Whatever genre we do, even if I do slapstick comedy, I want to give it the right due so that there’s enough detail and focus spent on it. With action films we have been used to, you can see a trope coming, and you can see every bad punch coming your way. Everybody can spot it. So when we were doing Citadel: Honey Bunny, we wanted to do it right,” said Raj. In other words, this director-duo, known for their intelligent and highly appealing shows, didn’t shy away from intellectualizing a genre that’s known to get away with murder.

“It’s set in the spy genre, but it’s really a human drama. It’s about these characters Honey, Bunny, and their child. It’s about their love for each other and their relationship as a family unit,” said DK.

Dhawan and Samantha were repeatedly told not to ham or perform in the way you expect actors in commercial cinema to work. Despite the stakes being high and murky geopolitics at its core, Dhawan and Samantha tell Gulf News that this is one show where you don’t have to suspend belief.

“My first instruction was, don’t suspend belief and all of it has to look very believable. It was my first director’s cue, and I got it… So there was this scene where we were shooting in a run-down building, and I had to go check each room. There were 16 rooms, and they made me check every one of them. We took many re-takes to make it look believable. At first, I checked just one room, but they asked me to forget about the cameras and check each room like you would in a real circumstance.”

While Varun was excited about working in a spy series with a generous dose of realistic situations, Samantha was understandably kicked about working in a series developed by a woman. Sita R Menon was in charge of writing the series.

“The strength of my character lies in Sita’s writing… This series made me realise that we need more female writers because she wrote an incredible character and my only pressure was to do justice to what she had written. There’s a lot of Sita in Honey,” said Samantha. The makers and the cast feel that their series has protagonists that dwell in the grey.

“Honey, Bunny or even Srikant Tiwari in The Family Man are flawed, but they believe passionately in a philosophy that could be sometimes wrong or fair. But that’s what makes them human,” said Raj. They also focused on making this show rooted in Indian reality while rolling out stunts that would rival any international film.

But a spy series with a good-looking pair at its core is highly dependent on the chemistry between the lead pair. The U.S. version of Citadel featuring a pouty Priyanka Chopra and the sexy Richard Madden worked largely because of their insane on-screen camaraderie and heat. So what was Varun and Samantha’s equation on the sets like? Varun tells us that they are not the best of friends in real life but have a shared work ethic. According to Samantha, Varun and she always looked at the bigger picture.

“We always look at how to make a scene look authentic, and nothing else matters. I instantly gelled and found comfort in working with Varun because we both always think of how to make a scene look amazing and authentic… There is a scene where I was in absolute splits… He’s a mood in himself. I was always taken in by his performance.”

While Samantha was impressed by his comic timing and seamless switch from drama to stunts, Varun felt that she’s one actress with zero insecurity.

“Even if another actor scores more in a scene, she’s fine as long as the scene is great… When you watch this series, you will realize that every scene shines.”

While the legendary Russo Brothers are backing this project, they had limited creative control, said Raj & DK. Their involvement was limited to giving feedback on the series.

“Most of the time, they gave us suggestions on how to look at something from an international perspective. If they had trouble understanding something, they asked if we could make it clearer, and their feedback was so valuable.” Its makers were also clear that they were making this show for creative satisfaction and not just to curry favour with critics.

“We dug deeper, and for us, it’s never about critics’ reviews… While we always check how much love our show gets, the real pay-off for us is not in the box-office collections or views.” His collaborator Raj also agrees.

“Action films or series are often the worst-reviewed in history because the focus is on creating action set-pieces. Stories often take a back seat. But for us, Citadel: Honey Bunny is not an action drama, but a human drama… For instance, Honey in the title is a satirical call to the fact that women have traditionally been used as honey traps. But she’s a warrior. The series will surprise you all,” said Raj.

While we will know if the series lands on its feet on November 7, there’s no denying that Varun and Samantha make bruised and battered look spectacular.

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Citadel: Honey Bunny will premiere on Prime Video on November 7