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Sara Arjun is getting a lot of love for her performance in Ranveer Singh’s action film Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Now casting director Mukesh Chhabra has revealed how the ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ actress was selected for the role of Yalina Jamali.In a recent interview with The Right Angle, Mukesh Chhabra spoke about the intense audition process and Aditya Dhar’s immediate reaction after watching her performance.
More than 1000 auditions for a single role
Mukesh Chhabra revealed that the team went through a massive audition process to find the right person for Laalina Jamali. The makers were clear that they wanted a completely new face.He said, “Humara initially discussing bohot saara is mein chala tha film, ki humko jis jagah ki woh ladki dikhani hai, koi aisa Fresh approach lena bohot zaroori hai.”
Initially, we thought of several large and established actors. Aditya received a lot of messages from different people. I received messages asking: “Why not me?” Because of course Ranveer. Hum log bhoot scan, ki faqir dunya mein woh lakki lagni chahi ke jiska koi background na ho, so that aisa lag ki us dunya mein ho going, woh us dunya mein ja raha hai.
(“We initially had a lot of discussions about this film. We felt that for where this girl belonged in the story, it was very important to take a fresh approach.
First, we thought of several big and well-known actors. Aditya received many messages from different people. I also received messages asking: “Why not me?” Because of course Ranveer. But we were very clear that the girl should feel so fresh, as someone who has no background at all, that it feels like she’s entering this world and going into her own space. “) The team wanted authenticity and a sense of realism in the character.
Strict selection process
The testing process was detailed and extensive. More than a thousand girls were chosen for this role. Mukesh Chhabra explained, “We auditioned a lot of people. I think more than a thousand girls auditioned. And just a clear synopsis, completely new, new approach, and of course the language. Lagna chahiye ki wahan ki hai, kyunki usse yeh Feel hota hai ki uss mulk mein aap jaa rahe ho. That’s the whole idea. If you’ve watched the second part, the scene where she says, ‘Are you a Hindustani agent?'” That was the script for the audition. B.
I remember we did that scene with at least 50 people after the shortlist was chosen. We then shortlisted 30, then got to 20, then 10, then 5, then 3, then 1. The process narrowed down the candidates step by step before finalizing with Sarah Arjun.
Aditya Dhar’s immediate reaction
Recalling Sara Arjun’s audition, Mukesh Chhabra shared how quickly he made the decision, “Jab usne woh scene kiya, I immediately sent it to Aditya on WhatsApp. He said, ‘Kaun hai yeh?’ I said she’s the new girl, she’s just done some ad films as a child actress, some films as a child actress.
At first, we were thinking: Is it going to look short? This is the calculation in casting. But then we thought kahani ke saath woh is true that he will go there and try to attract that girl.
That’s the point. She did a great test, and I’ll be releasing that test next week and you’ll see why we picked that girl.
His chemistry with Ranveer Singh is winning hearts
Sara Arjun’s collaboration with Ranveer Singh has received widespread appreciation. Their on-screen chemistry emerged as one of the highlights of the film.
While in the first part both the characters were in the process of being formed, in the second part we can see Sara Arjun’s character being more mature.
Running box office
‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ continues to dominate the box office. According to Sakneelak, the film collected Rs 41.55 crore on its second Friday across 18,456 shows. The film’s net collection in India has reached Rs 715.72 crore. The total global output is around Rs 1,128.99 lakh crore.
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‘Dhurandhar 2’ gets praise from Vicky, Kangana and Vivek at Delhi International Film Festival 2026
