Dhurandhar: Sunil Grover was considered for this role in Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna’s blockbuster; he was replaced by…
Dhurandhar casting director Mukesh Chhabra revealed that he thought of roping in Sunil Grover for the role of Aalam, but ultimately decided to cast Gaurav Gera. Best known for playing Nandu on Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, Gaurav plays Aalam, a confidante of Ranveer Singh’s character in Lyari, Karachi.
Sunil Grover considered for Dhurandhar
Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar has drawn praise for presenting both established and lesser-known actors in strikingly different avatars, a creative decision that casting director Mukesh Chhabra says was aimed at surprising the audience. Both critics and audiences have praised the spy thriller for Ranveer Singh’s performance as undercover spy Hamza Ali Mazari, along with its star-studded supporting cast featuring R Madhavan as Indian spymaster Ajay Sanyal, Sanjay Dutt as SP Chaudhary Aslam, Akshaye Khanna as real-life gangster Rehman Dakait, and Arjun Rampal as ISI Major Iqbal, a character inspired by terrorist Ilyas Kashmiri.
“I always think about how to surprise people, and how to make casting look more interesting, funny and fresh. With this film, I wanted to do that. People were expecting twists in this film, and therefore, I wanted to twist things with the casting. Every person should feel that it is a well-thought-out thing and that we have not cast someone randomly,” Mukesh told PTI.
Chhabra further added that he and Aditya spent nearly a year and a half finalising the cast and initially considered actors who had made a strong impression through their work on OTT platforms. The casting director shared that Ranveer was already attached to the project, and R Madhavan was the first actor he approached and he immediately came on board.
“With each and every casting, we literally spent so much time on thinking whether Arjun, Madhavan, Sanju baba or Akshaye would be correct or not. Every day, me and Aditya would sit for two to four hours, bouncing names, fighting, discussing, ‘It (actor) might work, not work, let’s surprise people, let’s go extra, and push ourselves.’ Earlier, we had some other names, we had OTT faces, then we thought of making it (film) bigger,” he said. For the role of gangster Rehman Dakait, Mukesh said they had a lengthy list of 50 to 60 actors from various backgrounds, including names of South movie actors, but ultimately they cast seasoned star Khanna.
While the stars definitely brought their A-game to the movie, moviegoers were also surprised to see actors like Gaurav Gera, Naveen Kaushik of Rocket Singh fame and veteran actor Rakesh Bedi in the movie. Gera, best known for playing Nandu on the hit TV show Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, plays the role of Aalam, a confidante of Singh’s character, while Kaushik essays the role of Donga, a member of Khanna’s gang. Bedi has a prominent role as the Pakistani politician Jameel Jamali.
“We did a lot of auditions for the role of Donga and Aalam, and that’s why the process takes 1-1.5 years because you’ve had to see how the performance will turn out, and how it can surprise people,” he said. Mukesh revealed that he also thought of roping in Sunil Grover for the role of Aalam, but ultimately decided to cast Gera. For the leading lady, he said they auditioned 1,300 girls before zeroing in on newcomer Sara Arjun. She plays the role of Yalina Jamali, the daughter of Bedi’s character, who gets romantically involved with Ranveer’s spy Humza.
Overall, Mukesh said Dhurandhar is a film he will always be proud of, and the kind of love and enthusiasm he has received for the film has been “unmatchable.” “I’ve done so many things in the last year, Tere Ishq Mein, Delhi Crime, The Family Man 3, Maharani, and many others. But the love I’m getting for Dhurandhar is something that I had got for Gangs of Wasseypur, Koi Po Che, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan,” Mukesh Chhabra concluded.
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