Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar took the box office by storm, with the filmmaker releasing two parts within a span of four months. Both films made a strong impact on audiences. After the release, Akshaye Khanna gained significant attention for his role as Rahman Dakait, a notorious Lyari ganglord. However, he was not the first choice for the role, in fact, he was the fourth actor approached, as three actors had earlier turned it down.
Mukesh Chhabra on Rahman Dakait casting
In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, casting director Mukesh Chhabra revealed that three actors rejected the role for unusual reasons. Without naming them, he said, “Ek actor South se thhe, aur baki do Bollywood ke thhe. They gave me a very weird logic. They said, ‘Ye ensemble cast hain (This is an ensemble cast).’ ‘Ye toh Ranveer ki picture hain (This is Ranveer Singh`s picture).’ I said okay leave, and Aditya [Dhar] is a cool guy and he said it is fine. He was sure about his film. I did feel bad because we think of an actor after a lot of thought.”
Mukesh added that they then approached Akshaye Khanna, who immediately agreed to hear the script and loved. Praising the actor, Mukesh said that Akshaye makes decisions from the heart and is not influenced by external opinions.
Mukesh Chhabra on casting challenges
Talking about his casting approach for the film Dhurandhar on The Right Angle with Sonal Kalra, Season 3, Mukesh Chhabra revealed, “Initially, even Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt and Akshaye Khanna were not sure about being a part of the film. Only R Madhavan said yes. For the others, it took time. Aditya and I were considering so many people, and honestly, earlier we had never thought we would cast so many big stars. We had a very different kind of actors in mind. Then I pushed him to think bigger.”
He further added, “When you start a film, you wonder how so many big actors will come on board. At first, none of this was there, but gradually, as we discussed, it started falling into place” Explaining why the actors were hesitant, he shared, “Madhavan and Arjun were on the set of the film only for 12 days. Most actors usually worry about how much screen time they will get. We said that here, the impact is what matters. If you look at Madhavan’s part, with only 12 to 14 days of work, the impact of the role is huge.”
