‘Akshaye Khanna is baap’: Mukesh Chhabra reveals actor said yes to Dhurandhar immediately, calls him a man of his word

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He added, “Aaj main padh leta hoon raat mein jaakar phir” (I’ll read it tonight and get back to you). And he is not one of those guys who says ‘aaj padh leta hoon’ (I’ll read it today) and then ghosts you. He is a man of his word. That’s the best part about him, that he takes every single decision on his own.” Another casting choice that has been drawing significant attention is Rakesh Bedi, who plays the politician Jameel Jamali in the film. Speaking about Rakesh Bedi’s casting, Chhabra said, “Almost every producer, director, or actor I know is taking his number from me and congratulating him. Some are even planning to cast him, and I’m so happy for him. I think he completely reinvented himself in this film, especially in the way he performed. He actually added his own humor to the character; it was never in the script.” He further explained, “I think he spoke to Aditya and said, ‘I want to add another layer to this.’ He’s a great actor, when actors improvise, they always come up with new ideas. And Aditya is extremely collaborative. There’s no barrier with him; you can communicate freely and really speak your heart out.”

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Rakesh Bedi in a still from Dhurandhar

Recalling his first conversation with Rakesh Bedi, Chhabra shared, “When I called Rakesh ji, I just told him, ‘It’s a very interesting character, you haven’t done anything like this, please do it.’ And he immediately responded, ‘Beta, main trust karta hoon tujhe, let’s do it’ (Son, I trust you, let’s do it).”