EXCLUSIVE: Not Varun Dhawan but Irrfan Khan was in Sriram Raghavan’s mind for Badlapur; here’s how VD came on board

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In 2015, Sriram Raghavan directed the action thriller movie Badlapur, starring Varun Dhawan. Despite its commercial success, it was Varun’s performance that truly impressed viewers. Yet, you might not realize this, but Varun wasn’t originally the director’s top pick for the part! In an exclusive interview with TopMob, Raghavan shared that he had envisioned Irrfan Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the role while writing the script. Keep reading to find out more!

In an open chat with TopMob, film director Sriram Raghavan shared insights about his professional journey, particularly focusing on the casting of Varun Dhawan in a serious part of Badlapur. During the interview, Raghavan traced back the events that led to Varun’s selection for the main character, which he attributed mainly to producer Dinesh Vijan. He narrated how circumstances aligned perfectly and ultimately resulted in Varun landing the lead role.

The director behind Ek Hasina Thi confided that he had a fundamental idea for Badlapur with him, which he discussed with Sanjay and his brother Shridhar Raghavan. However, they advised against creating the movie, expressing concerns about its dark nature. “I was considering actors like Irrfan (Khan). They urged me not to proceed,” the filmmaker revealed.

Watch the entire interview below:

Later on, he disclosed that a week has passed since then, and he encountered Dinesh. He shared with him the tale of Badlapur. The producer instructed him to proceed with the movie under the condition that he wouldn’t weaken the plot. When Vijan inquired about the actor he envisioned for the film, Raghavan mentioned that Saif Ali Khan wasn’t an option because their project, Agent Vinod, had failed. Otherwise, he would have considered him too.

Initially, the Sky Force producer proposed the idea of casting someone significantly younger, such as Varun Dhawan, for the role. Although the creator of Johnny Gaddaar hadn’t considered VD for that specific part, he recalled his brother Shridhar getting married at 21 years old. This led him to believe that young individuals could indeed experience romance and tragedy. In his words, “I thought it wasn’t a terrible suggestion.

Later on, an intriguing coincidence took place. It so happened that Raghavan was at Dinesh’s place the same day; interestingly, Varun had contacted the movie producer on that very day as well. This is when they both made a plan to meet up with the actor from Bhediya and share with him the plot of the 2015 thriller.

According to Sriram Raghavan, Varun showed interest in the story and asked if he could do it. I replied that if he was passionate about it, he certainly could. Right then and there, that’s how things unfolded. Interestingly, while writing, Nawaz Siddiqui (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) also popped into my thoughts.

Have you watched Varun Dhawan’s Badlapur yet?

Varun Dhawan led the 2015 action thriller film, Badlapur, directed by Sriram Raghavan. Have you watched the film yet?
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2025-04-29 02:37