While fans are busy pointing out “peak detailing” moments in Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar franchise, the on-point casting for each character has earned unanimous praise from fans. Casting director Mukesh Chhabra has been credited for bringing together this line-up of stars and character actors to deliver, arguably, one of the best cast films in Bollywood.

Mukesh, meanwhile, spoke about the extensive casting process for Dhurandhar. Interestingly, he shared that several actors turned down the now-viral part of Rehman Dakait. He added that Akshaye Khanna’s first reaction upon hearing about the role of this Pakistani gangster was not very joyous either, but he came on board after hearing the script.

As per Mukesh, most actors weren’t keen on being part of an ensemble cast and this kept created hurdles for the team at every moment. “We were discussing so many actors’ names for the film, but they kept saying no, because they didn’t want to be part of an ensemble film,” Mukesh told The Hollywood Reporter India.

He added, “Sometimes you don’t have to create a look for an actor.” As per Mukesh, after Dhurandhar’s release and success, several actors who had declined roles in the movie earlier reached out again, this time with regret.

“Akshaye Khanna’s name came towards the end… when I first called him, he said, ‘Are you mad?’ But I told him to at least hear the story. After the narration, he said ‘Fantastic!’ and confirmed within the day,” Mukesh shared.

Dhurandhar part 1 ended up grossing over ₹1300 crore worldwide. The Revenge has already entered the ₹1000 crore club globally in just a week of its release. The two movies together may end up grossing ₹2800 crore at the worldwide box office by the time the sequel’s theatrical run concludes.