Anurag Kashyap’s writing on Shakalaka Boom Boom didn’t impress Suneel Darshan: ‘Went wrong in casting Upen Patel’

The filmmaker also revealed that he went wrong with the casting of British actor Upen Patel, who looked like the character but “couldn’t speak like the part”. Darshan said that if the audience can’t identify with the protagonist, everything eventually goes downhill.

Shakalaka Boom Boom was penned by Anurag Kashyap.

“I went wrong in casting Upen Patel. He looked like the character, but he didn’t speak like the character. You can’t have your hero like that. I thought I should dub him, which I did towards the end, but it still fizzled out. I thought this would be his first film as a hero, but before that he did a small role in Namastey London, so his positioning couldn’t be built. If your protagonist isn’t identifiable then the film is not in a good position,” he added.

In a blog post on Passion for Cinema, Anurag had expressed regret for taking on the project. He said that he would be ashamed every time his daughter called Shakalaka Boom Boom his film. “I didn’t bother. When they called me I went. What they asked me to write, I wrote. I did not add anything to it, so all I can say for it is I AM SORRY and that is not enough. All I can say is never again.”

In his prime, Suneel Darshan worked with major Bollywood stars including Aamir Khan in Mela, Akshay Kumar in Jaanwar, and launched Priyanka Chopra in Andaaz.