Fawad Khan’s super hit 2016 Bollywood film Kapoor & Sons did exceptionally well at the box office. The star-studded venture starred Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt and Rishi Kapoor, along with the Humsafar superstar.
But did you know another superstar had hoped he would land the former EP vocalist’s role?
In a recent interview, Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor has revealed that he was after Fawad’s role in the film. “Not a lot of people know this but I can confess this now, here. I had called up Shakun Batra when Kapoor & Sons was stuck for a while and I had said I would want to do it. At that point of time, obviously, Shakun didn’t see the casting hitting the spot,” Hindustan Times quoted Arjun as saying. “I wanted to play Fawad’s role. I knew they were getting stuck with that.”
The Panipat star further added that he had been teasing Batra about not casting him for a while now. “I was never offered the film… I had just heard that it was being cast but it was not proving to be an easy exercise. And I know Shakun personally, so I called him up and said, ‘I would love to read and I feel I can play that role also. I have no qualms about playing either/or, wherever you see me fit, but I would like to work with you.’ I keep making fun of him, ‘Tune Arjun Kapoor ko nahi liya but Arjun Kapoor ka naam le liya (You didn’t take Arjun Kapoor in your film but you took Arjun Kapoor’s name)’ because Sidharth Malhotra ended up being called Arjun Kapoor in the film,” he said.
Back in 2017, director Batra had opened up about working with Khan. Talking to The Indian Express, Batra shared, “I miss him a lot. I don’t know if I am supposed to be quiet about it and I don’t miss him because of any other things. I miss him simply because he is a great guy and he is a lovely collaborator,”
He went on, “We Indians who work around the world… we do it legally. Similarly, if somebody else wants to work legally in our country, it should be open. It should be a two-way street.”
Apart from Arjun, Karan had previously revealed that Saif Ali Khan had rejected Fawad’s role in the film as well. The ace filmmaker had shared this in an episode of Koffee With Karan when Saif had shared the couch with his Rangoon costar Kangana Ranaut.
The Cocktail star had shared his wife, Kareena Kapoor Khan, who had worked with the director in Ekk Main Aur Ekk Tu, had called Saif’s decision to not take the role ‘stupid.’
