The second part of Aditya Dhar’s blockbuster franchise, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, finally hit theaters on March 19 and has been creating quite a buzz ever since. The film, which was headlined by Ranveer Singh, not only impressed the audiences but also piqued their curiosity about the extensive casting process. In a recent interview, casting director Mukesh Chhabra shared his thoughts on how the film came together, including the surprising fact that several actors turned down the now-popular role of Rahman Dhakait, eventually portrayed by Akshaye Khanna.Mukesh remembers being deeply moved when he first heard the script. He said in an interview with Bollywood Hungama, “I narrated the story for four hours. After that, I was in a state of shock. I didn’t move or take a break. We didn’t even realize how much time had passed. I felt scared at first, even after choosing so many films in the past. I had to find a lot of newer characters and faces. It was a big film.”
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He went on to describe the enormous scope of the casting effort, revealing that nearly 400 roles had to be filled in both parts of the film.
“If I combined both the parts, I had to cast around 400 people. I put together a team of six people and started researching. Aditya gave me complete freedom and asked me to think as big as possible. He wanted to surprise people. He really believed that this film would break all records and all the roles would get a lot of love.”
“Mukesh also shared that Ranveer Singh was always the first and most confirmed choice for the lead role of Hamza.
“During this process, many people rejected different roles, but Aditya was calm and asked me to find other actors. It took us almost two years to do the research and casting. We started at the beginning of 2024. We were always clear that Ranveer Singh would play Hamza. He agreed immediately as he was also waiting for the right film.
“When asked about casting the antagonist, Mukesh revealed that some actors had rejected the role before Akshaye Khanna stepped in.
“I can’t mention any names but 2-3 actors said no to his role. I’m sure they regret that decision today. An actor from South and two from Bollywood gave a very strange reasoning. They said this is an ensemble cast and it’s actually a Ranveer film, but Aditya moves on from the negative thoughts quickly.”
“He also spoke about the casting of Sara Arjun in the role of Yalina Jamali, a role that has attracted huge interest from actors across the industry. “Aditya and I were approached for the role. I told him that we would need someone who didn’t have any old baggage, so a completely fresh face would work best. Everyone should think this is just Yalina. I wanted to cast the character and keep it a surprise. We had over 1,000 auditions for her role,” he concluded.Meanwhile, Dhurandhar: The Revenge has already crossed the Rs 1,500 crore mark at the global box office. Apart from Ranveer Singh, the film also stars Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan,
Arjun Rampal
,
Rakesh Bedi
Danish Pandor and Sarah Arjun in the lead roles.
