Bajrangi Bhaijaan director Kabir Khan: ‘If we didn’t get the right Munni, the film wouldn’t be half what it is today…’

Kabir Khan talks about Harshaali Malhotra, who played Munni in Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Salman Khan and Harshaali Malhotra in Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Apart from cementing Salman Khan’s position as the ‘Bhai’ of Bollywood cinema, the action film Bajrangi Bhaijaan also propelled the child star Harshaali Malhotra to fame. Harshaali played the role of Munni in the film, directed by Kabir Khan. Recently, Kabir Khan talked about the actor and said that the film wouldn’t have faced half the success it did, had it not been for Harshaali.

Talking to IMDB, Kabir said,”After all these years, If I were to speak about one aspect of the making of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, I would speak about the hunt for the girl who would portray Munni. After writing the script, I knew our biggest challenge would be finding the correct casting for Munni. If we didn’t get the correct Munni, I don’t think the film would be half what it is today. I spoke to my casting director Mukesh Chhabra and said we need to spread the net far and wide.” Kabir revealed that they had auditioned around 2000 girls, from the age of five to six and seven. Ten were finally shortlisted from various parts of the country and they had a month-long workshop with them.

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Kabir further added on the process of finalizing Harshaali Malhotra as Munni, saying he wanted to make sure that the expressions, look were right and which of the girls had the stamina and ‘attitude’ to last through the film. “We were shooting a big movie; the shooting window was more than six-seven months long in different terrains. Hence perspective also was critical of how the little girl approached the role, and I’m happy with that workshop. We finally zeroed in on Harshaali Malhotra, who was pure magic on screen, and the chemistry with Salman was bang on. And I remember the first time I took her to Salman’s house in Galaxy. Right from there on, you could see the chemistry between them. Ultimately the magic of Bajrangi Bhaijaan is that dynamic between the character of Bajrangi and the little girl Munni.”

Bajrangi Bhaijaan emerged as a resounding hit and grossed over Rs 473.26 worldwide and was praised for its storyline, music and cinematography. The film revolves around a man who goes on a journey to take a mute Pakistani girl back to her hometown.

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