Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar and its sequel, Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, have broken records and shifted the landscape of Indian cinema. Apart from their dominating power at the box office, the casting in both movies has been the talk of the town.
Apart from the striking resemblance of reel and real characters, actors like Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, and R. Madhavan have been praised for their spectacular acting. Another such name has also been in the talks - Sara Arjun.
In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, casting director Mukesh Chhabra has revealed the process of casting the female co-star alongside Ranveer Singh. He said, "Aditya was also getting many requests to cast various actresses opposite Ranveer; many people were messaging him wanting to be cast. I was receiving messages too."
Talking about casting a new face, he said, "But I told Aditya very clearly that we need a face that looks like they truly belong to that specific place, without any 'past baggage.' A new face would work better because if we cast an established actress who has already done a few films, that connection wouldn't feel right."
"Since the story involves him going there and meeting this girl, it needs to be a completely fresh face. Even though Sara has done a few films as a child actor, she has never done a full-fledged Bollywood film as a lead heroine."
When asked about casting an actress of Ranveer's level, Mukesh said, "No, we were very clear that if we are entering that world, the girl's identity should be a complete surprise. This thought process was very clear, and I completely agree; we did so many auditions, we did about 1,200 to 1,300 auditions."
"Then, we shortlisted and did a final audition with Sara. It was very clear that we wanted a new face. We had also been craving a new face for so long."
Talking about the particular casting for the role of Yalina, he said, "My brief was clear: they had to look like they belonged there, and the language had to be accurate. Her look needed to have a bit of a Pakistani feel to it."
"The language had to be clean, the Hindi had to be clear, and the Urdu had to be clear and fluent. There had to be an innocence and simplicity in her face, because Ranveer's character is supposed to charm her."
ALSO READ | Sanjay Dutt's Portrayal Of Chaudhry Aslam In Dhurandhar Praised By Former Pakistani Cop's Widow
Sara plays the character of Yalina in both parts of Dhurandhar. Yalina is the daughter of Jameel Jamali, portrayed by Rakesh Bedi. Yalina and Hamza (Ranveer Singh) fall in love with each other and marry. However, their love story is based on complex relationships as Hamza is an Indian undercover agent named Jaskirat Singh Rangi.
Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge has crossed Rs 1,500 crore in worldwide gross collections. The total India gross collections now stand strong at Rs 1,163.74 crore
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