Filmmaker Siddharth P Malhotra: ‘They were simply the right actors for the story’

Sunny Deol and Akshaye Khanna in ‘Ikka’. Pics/By Special Arrangement, YouTube

Put two powerhouse actors in a courtroom, arm them with a gripping story, and sparks are bound to fly. Director Siddharth P Malhotra has done just that with Netflix's courtroom drama Ikka, reuniting Sunny Deol and Akshaye Khanna nearly three decades after Border (1997). The casting came at the right moment. While Deol expanded his fan base with Gadar 2: The Katha Continues (2023) and Border 2, Khanna became one of the biggest talking points with Dhurandhar (2025). "They were simply the right actors for the story," he shares.

Akshaye Khanna, Pooja Bhatt, and Sunny Deol in ‘Border' (1997)

Malhotra reveals that he approached Deol for the project almost a year-and-a-half before it materialised. "I told Sunny sir this is a script I want him to do and he liked it. When [the platform] came on board and heard the script, I went back to him and he said, ‘Great, let's do this'." For Deol's courtroom adversary, Malhotra had only one name in mind. "They asked me who I wanted for the antagonist and I said Akshaye Khanna," he says, adding that the actor loved the script after reading it in one go.

Siddharth P Malhotra

Ikka centres on a respected lawyer, played by Deol, who is forced to defend a man he had previously helped convict. For Malhotra, the moral conflict is the story's biggest draw. "The challenge of the script itself is the character's moral dilemma. The lines between right and wrong and their perspectives are blurring. That's what makes it interesting for me as a storyteller."

The filmmaker deliberately avoided presenting Deol as the morally infallible hero. "I've seen him in Damini [1993]. Why do I have to give people Damini again? It's fun to see him be emotionally correct even if he's morally incorrect," he smiles.

July 10
Streaming date of ‘Ikka'

‘Ikka' is Siddharth P Malhotra's first film with Sunny Deol and Akshaye Khanna