Gaurav Gera had left Mumbai, moved to Gurugram when Mukesh Chhabra called him for Dhurandhar: ‘Paaji, whatever you say’

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‘Madhavan immediately said yes’

In a recent conversation with Hindustan Times, Chhabra revealed that assembling such a large and diverse cast was no easy task.

“It is very difficult to get a big ensemble cast in today’s time. Very happy that Akshaye Khanna came on board, Sanjay Dutt came on board, Arjun Rampal. That’s how the process began—we first locked the big names and then slowly went into the details. Madhavan immediately said yes. That was my favourite casting; on the first day itself, within two hours, we locked him.”

“After that, Rakesh Bedi and then others happened. We started big and then, step by step, went scene-wise. I remember the process took almost one and a half years for the entire casting of the two parts.”

‘Other actors rejected Jameel Jamali’s part’

One of the most talked-about choices has been the casting of Rakesh Bedi, best known for his comic roles. In Dhurandhar, however, his presence came as a surprise to many.

Explaining the decision, Chhabra said the idea was to challenge audience expectations. “The whole point of casting is to make people feel, ‘how did they think of that?’ That’s the point. I can reveal that many actors said no to that part in the beginning. But he had already done one scene with Aditya Dhar, so I said—why not cast him? He is a great actor. People will be shocked because he has mostly done comedy. It will completely surprise them—no one will even think of him.” Chhabra recalled how quickly things fell into place.

“I immediately called him and said, ‘Aditya Dhar had told you something big is coming—this is it, speak to him.’ And on the phone, we locked him. Aditya said, ‘I have already done a scene with him, great idea, it will be fun.’”

Gaurav Gera had left Mumbai when he was called for Dhurandhar

Another unexpected casting choice was Gaurav Gera, widely recognised for his comedic work. “When I read the script, I always think how can I go against typical casting? Gaurav has done a lot of comedy videos, so people don’t expect this side of him. If we cast someone already known for serious roles, there would be no surprise.”

Chhabra said he had closely followed Gera’s work and was confident in his range. “I have seen a lot of his work—any actor who can do so much mimicry and comedy has strong ability. People have seen Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin. I knew he could do it.”

At the time, Gera had moved out of Mumbai and was living in Gurugram. “He had shifted to Gurugram. I called him and said, ‘Grow your beard for a few days, I want to test something—I want to surprise people.’ He said, ‘Paaji, whatever you say, I will do.’ He grew the beard, did the test, and even Aditya Dhar asked, ‘Who is this actor?’ I said, ‘Gaurav Gera,’ and he was like, ‘What!’”

The reaction after the film’s release validated the decision. “After the film, everyone in the industry called me asking who that actor was—they thought it was a new face. And I said, it’s not new, it’s Gaurav Gera. That’s the best part of casting—when people are shocked.”

Many actors refused Rehman Dakait’s role

In an earlier conversation with Hollywood Reporter India, Mukesh had said that one of the toughest roles to cast was that of Rehman Dakait.

“We were discussing so many actor’s names for the film, but the actors kept saying no, because they didn’t want to be part of an ensemble film,” Chhabra recalled.

“Akshaye Khanna’s name came towards the end. Akshaye has this capacity—give him anything and he will surprise you. When I first called him, he said, “Are you mad?” But I told him to just come at least and hear the story. He came and after the narration, looked at me and said, “Fantastic!” in that typical way of his. Within the day he called and confirmed he’s doing the film. It was that quick,” Chhabra shared.

Dhurandhar 2 box office report

Meanwhile, Dhurandhar The Revenge collected Rs 41.55 crore on its second Friday across, taking the film’s total collection in India to at Rs 715.72 crore, while its worldwide gross has reached Rs 1,128.99 crore.