Sara Arjun is getting much love for her performance in Ranveer Singh‘s actioner ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’. Now the casting director Mukesh Chhabra revealed how the ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ actress was selected for the role of Yalina Jamali.In a recent interview with The Right Angle, Mukesh Chhabra opened up about the extensive audition process and Aditya Dhar’s immediate reaction after watching her performance.
Over 1000 auditions for one role
Mukesh Chhabra revealed that the team conducted a massive audition process to find the perfect fit for Yalina Jamali. The makers were clear that they wanted a completely fresh face.He said, “Humara Initially bohot saara discussion iss film mein chala tha, ki humko jis jagah ki woh ladki dikhani hai, koi aisa fresh approach lena bohot zaroori hai. Initially, we thought of so many big, established actors. Aditya got so many messages from different people. I got messages asking, ‘Why not me?’ Because, of course, he’s Ranveer. Hum log bohot clear the, ki poori duniya mein woh fresh ladki lagni chahiye ki jiska koi background naa ho, so that aisa lage ki uss duniya mein he is going, woh uss duniya mein jaa raha hai.” (“We initially had a lot of discussions for this film. We felt that for the place this girl belongs to in the story, it was very important to take a fresh approach. At first, we thought of many big, established actors. Aditya received many messages from different people. I also got messages asking, ‘Why not me?’ Because, of course, it’s Ranveer. But we were very clear that the girl should feel completely fresh, like someone with no background at all, so that it looks like he is entering that world and going into her space.”) The team wanted authenticity and a sense of realism in the character.
Rigorous shortlisting process
The audition process was detailed and extensive. More than a thousand girls were considered for the role. Mukesh Chhabra explained, “We auditioned so many people. I think more than a thousand girls auditioned. And mere pe bohot brief clear tha, completely fresh, a new approach, and of course, language. Lagna chahiye ki wahan ki hai, kyunki usse yeh feel hota hai ki uss mulk mein aap jaa rahe ho. That’s the whole idea. If you’ve seen part 2, the scene where she says, ‘Are you a Hindustani agent?’ That was my audition script. I remember we did that scene with a minimum of 50 people after shortlisting. Then we shortlisted 30, came down to 20, then 10, then 5, then 3, and then 1.” The process narrowed down candidates step by step before finalising Sara Arjun.
Aditya Dhar’s instant reaction
Recalling Sara Arjun’s audition, Mukesh Chhabra shared how quickly the decision was made, “Jab usne woh scene kiya, immediately I sent it to Aditya on WhatsApp. He said, ‘Kaun hai yeh?’ I said she’s the new girl, she’s just done a few ad films as a child actor, and a few films as a child actor. Initially, we were thinking, ‘Will she look short?’ That is a calculation in casting. But then we thought kahani ke saath woh correct lagega that he’s going there and he’s trying to woo that girl. That’s the whole point. She gave a kick-ass audition, I’m going to release that audition in the next one week and you’ll know why we took that girl.”
Chemistry with Ranveer Singh wins hearts
Sara Arjun’s pairing with Ranveer Singh has been widely appreciated. Their on-screen chemistry has emerged as one of the film’s highlights. While in the first part both their characters were just moulding, in the sequel we can see a more mature character of Sara Arjun.
Box office run
‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ continues to dominate the box office. According to Sacnilk, the film collected Rs 41.55 crore on its second Friday across 18,456 shows. The film’s India net collection has reached Rs 715.72 crore. Its worldwide gross stands at approximately Rs 1,128.99 crore.
