Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar The Revenge has become the talk of the town and appears unstoppable at the box office. Every character in the film is receiving recognition and love from the audience, and one of them is Rizwan, Hamza’s trusted right-hand man and another Indian spy in Pakistan. The character is played by celebrity trainer-turned-actor Mustafa Ahmed.
Mustafa’s journey started from earning just ₹10,000 as a gym trainer to working with A-list celebrities like Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal and Hrithik Roshan.
Who is Mustafa Ahmed?
Mustafa is a celebrity trainer-turned-actor who worked at a call centre at the age of 21. He revealed in a podcast with Alpha Coach that between 2004 and 2005, he was the youngest team leader at a call centre, earning a salary of ₹1 lakh per month. However, fitness had always been his passion, and one incident at his gym changed his life forever.
The actor recalled that while working out at a gym in West Delhi, he saw a woman in her mid-40s being ignored by a trainer. He decided to help her with her workout and continued to monitor her progress. Two months later, the woman handed him an envelope at the gym and asked him to open it only after reaching home. He said, “I got very scared and worried. I went back home and found a letter which said that you are meant for this and born for this and this is your life’s calling and if you don’t do this, it will be criminal.”
He revealed that her words deeply affected him, and within a week, he quit his job at the call centre. Mustafa added that his mother did not speak to him for a week after he left a stable job, especially since he had studied only till Class 10 despite earning well.
He added, “I quit and I joined a gym in Janakpuri, where I was getting a salary of ₹10,000 and I had to wake up at 4 and open up the shutter of the gym by 5 ish and then shut it at 10:30. I had friends who had been very kind to me and they had joined Fitness First which had just came to India and they opened up a massive gym in CP. I went with them, and the assistant manager there asked me to join as a trainer. I told them I have no formal education about it, and he said just come down for an interview. After two days, I was hired, and the next thing, he told me that I am going to get a salary of ₹18000, and you are going to be a silver level trainer, and he said you are going to get 600 for one hour of personal training, and the gym would take 300.”
Mustafa further revealed that within a few months, he became the number one trainer at Fitness First in Asia, working nearly 400 hours a month.
How did he land celebrity clients?
Mustafa shared that his wife ran a fitness bakery at the time, which eventually helped him connect with the industry. One celebrity looking for healthy food options discovered the bakery through their trainer. Mustafa later befriended that trainer, only to realise he was Hrithik Roshan’s trainer.
When the trainer moved back to the UK, Mustafa’s wife encouraged him to reach out for an opportunity.
He revealed, “After six weeks of going back and forth, he (Hrithik’s ex trainer) sent me a number and asked me to message Hrithik. Next day Hrithik’s manager messaged me and I went there. Hrithik told me about his injuries. I trained him that day and after two days, he said I want you to work with me full time, and can you keep me as priority?”
After this, there was no looking back. Mustafa went on to train A-listers like Vicky Kaushal, Ranveer Singh and Yami Gautam, among others.
Mustafa Ahmed’s entry into Bollywood
Mustafa made his Bollywood debut with Yami Gautam’s 2025 film Dhoom Dhaam. He later appeared in Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, where he played one of the Indian spies who infiltrated Arshad Pappu’s gang.
In Dhurandhar The Revenge, he turns against Arshad Pappu and joins Ranveer Singh as his trusted right-hand man after rising through the ranks and becoming the kingpin of Lyari. His performance has been widely praised, with some fans even calling him the “next Sunny Deol of the industry”.
About Dhurandhar The Revenge’s success
Aditya Dhar’s film opened to a bumper start, collecting ₹145 crore at the domestic box office. Over the next two days (Saturday and Sunday), the film earned over ₹100 crore each day, taking its total to more than ₹450 crore in just four days.
The film, which also stars Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan and Sanjay Dutt in lead roles, has reportedly crossed ₹750 crore worldwide after its opening weekend.
