After accusing Vishal Bhardwaj of ‘dishonest casting’, Imran Khan says he wanted ‘to show how projects are greenlit in industry’

He further added, “The director-actor relationship is a key element of moviemaking, and not all relationships are in sync. I told this story not to cast blame, but to describe my experience and provide context for the making of the film (which I think adds interesting insight)… and also to use myself as an example to discuss the way projects are cast and greenlit in the industry.” He also asked readers to check out his comment below.

A netizen commented on Imran’s clarification and wrote, “I like the guy…But sadly he’s not an actor.” Imran replied to the comment, saying, “Thanks bro…still trying my best.”

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What did Imran say about Vishal Bhardwaj?

In a recent interaction with Samdish Bhatia, Imran spoke about the casting process in the film industry, using his experience from Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola as an example, and revealed that he was not the first choice for the project. He said, “I did a film called Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola. The idea of casting me as a Haryanvi villager is very left-field casting. It was only in the aftermath that I understood how the film came about. Ajay Devgn was originally attached to the film, and they had started preparations. Somewhere during that stage, he backed out.”

He added that Vishal Bhardwaj was very excited about the project, as it was a passion project for him. “I was coming off a couple of hits like Delhi Belly and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, so he cast me not because I was the perfect actor for the part, but because with me attached, he could get a certain budget to make the film.”

The actor further said, “The approach to casting is all based on budget. It has nothing to do with the actor. Nobody cares whether you’re the right actor for the role. They’re just thinking, ‘How much money can I get with him?’ That’s how I ended up being cast in Matru. On my back, they could get an X amount of money. As an actor, you get excited thinking, ‘Vishal Bhardwaj is calling me.’ It feels daunting and challenging, but you think you’ll give it your best.”

Calling his casting in the film “dishonest”, Imran said, “This is my extra psychoanalysis and perspective… I believe he cast me for a dishonest reason, not a truthful creative one. And once it was done, I think he felt a kind of creative dishonesty, that he had made a choice he didn’t fully believe in. I could feel that from the very first day of the shoot. He never said anything beyond ‘action’ and ‘cut’ to me. There was no bond. It was the most lonely film I have ever made. He left me with ‘jo karna hai karo’.”

Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola also starred Anushka Sharma and Pankaj Kapur in lead roles, while Shabana Azmi and Aarya Babbar played supporting roles. The film failed to perform at the box office.