At the recently concluded 66th National Film Awards, Ayushmann Khurrana received the Best Actor Award for his performances in Andhadhun. Sriram Raghavan's film was in fact a favourite at this year's edition of National Film Awards as it also won Best Hindi Film award and honour for Screenplay writer (adapted). But did you know several big actors turned down AndhaDhun before Ayushmann came on board? Speaking at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, where he won the Best Director Award, Sriram revealed that while some actors didn’t buy into his vision, others didn’t see commercial merit in his project.
“A lot of big actors said no to the film. They couldn’t understand how the movie would pan out. At the time, we didn’t have the complete script. And I was like, if they can’t understand it now, then it’s fine because they won’t suit the role,” the filmmaker was quoted as saying. What's more? He had various artistes in mind for the role, but Ayushmann’s name never came up until the actor texted him asking to audition for the part. Sriram further talked about how Ayushmann promised he would learn the piano for his part and it was the Badhaai Ho star's enthusiasm that convinced Sriram to sign him. Further, when quizzed if shooting a dark film could be draining on the cast and crew, he said, “I remember the crazy journey all of us took. The film is good crazy and good mad. We experienced that first hand. We were literally living it, it was organic and it was a great journey.”
AndhaDhun, co-starring Tabu and Radhika Apte, featured Ayushmann as a visually-impaired pianist. The film got love and appreciation from all corners ever since its release on October 5, 2018.
(Source: DNA)
