Actress Tilottama Shome has revealed how veteran star Sunny Deol personally encouraged her to make his legendary 'Dhai Kilo Ka Haath' dialogue her own in the Netflix courtroom thriller Ikka, which premiered on 10 July. Far from feeling intimidated, Shome says the moment became one of creative liberation — thanks largely to Deol's generosity on set.

The Moment of Hesitation

Shome admitted she was neither overwhelmed nor indifferent when the scene approached. 'The truth is that when I was actually on the set, I wasn't nervous or overly excited. I was somewhere in the middle,' she said. 'I knew it was an iconic dialogue, and I even tried convincing the director that perhaps Sunny sir should deliver it instead. But he didn't agree.'

She then went directly to Sunny Deol himself. 'I asked Sunny sir if he had any objection to me saying such a famous dialogue of his. He immediately replied, ‘Why would I? Say it in your own way.’' That single response, she said, removed all hesitation. 'When I received that kind of encouragement from everyone, I simply made the dialogue my own. I never tried to match Sunny sir's performance or outperform it. There was no such calculation in my mind.'

What the Dialogue Means in Ikka

In Ikka, directed by Imtiaz Ali, Shome plays Madhura Banerjee, a determined public prosecutor who goes head-to-head in the courtroom against Deol's character, Arjun Mehra, a defence attorney. The film deploys Deol's own celebrated line as a weapon wielded against him — a meta-cinematic inversion that gives the dialogue fresh dramatic weight. The thriller also features Akshaye Khanna and Dia Mirza.

Tilottama on Working with Sunny Deol

Beyond the iconic dialogue, Shome spoke warmly about her co-star's personality on set. 'Sunny sir is a very introverted person, and so am I. People often assume actors are naturally extroverted because we face the camera, but that's not always true,' she noted. She described a quality in Deol's quietness that put the entire unit at ease: 'What I loved about him was that even in his silence, there was tremendous warmth. Sometimes a person's silence can make the atmosphere uncomfortable, but his silence made everyone around him feel relaxed.' She added that he was 'always kind, respectful and extremely generous — a true gentleman, something that feels increasingly rare today.'

Ikka on Netflix

Ikka premiered on Netflix on 10 July. Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film marks a notable genre shift for the director — best known for romantic dramas — into courtroom thriller territory. The casting of Tilottama Shome opposite Sunny Deol has drawn attention for its unconventional pairing, and the reimagined 'Dhai Kilo Ka Haath' moment has emerged as one of the film's most-discussed sequences since its release.