Ranveer Singh Was Cast In Dhurandhar As Hiring ‘So-Called Stars’ Was Too Expensive; Producer Makes BIG Statement

Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar – The Revenge were mega box office successes upon their releases. The action thrillers were not immensely loved for their acting, story and music but also succeeded in creating box office records for Indian film worldwide. In a recent conversation, the film’s co-producer, Jyoti Deshpande got candid about many things, including why they cast Ranveer Singh as Hamza Ali Mazari/Jaskirat Singh Rangi.

Ranveer Singh Was Cast In Dhurandhar As Hiring ‘So-Called Stars’ Was Too Expensive

During a recent interaction with Outlook Business, Jyoti Deshpande – who is also the CEO of Jio Studios, stated, “I was underwriting an absolutely clutter-breaking film with cinematic excellence that had never been seen before. For more than six months, we were talking about it; there were several iterations of the draft and the story over those six months.”

Talking about casting Ranveer Singh as the lead, she continued, “We knew the film was expensive. Every penny had to land up on screen. There were no safe things we could do because it was already an expensive film to shoot. Now, if we added expensive actors as well, it was going to render the film unviable on day one. So we wanted performers rather than the so-called stars.”

Revealing why Ranveer was the ideal choice for the mega-budget film, Jyoti shared, “I had worked with Ranveer on Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani, when he wasn’t this big. So I had worked with him when he was starting out, and I still believe those are some of my favourite films of Ranveer Singh. I find him an absolutely outstanding actor who gives it his all. He transforms into a character.”

Jyoti: Ranveer Transforms, He Doesn’t Play Ranveer Singh

She further said, “I love that about him, the fact that he is not Ranveer Singh in that film. When he has to become Bajirao, he becomes Bajirao; when he has to become Khilji, he becomes Khilji… When he has to become the Gully Boy, he becomes the Gully Boy. So he transforms; he doesn’t play Ranveer Singh.”

Talking about Ranveer’s contribution to the Dhurandhar films, Jyoti Deshpande revealed RS’s involvement in the film went beyond only acting. She said, “Everyone was involved. Aditya Dhar, to begin with. And Ranveer Singh, the actor, who went all in and did nothing else for the duration of the film. Every technician who was part of that film, whether it’s cinematography, sound design, editing, everyone was all in.”

She added, “We all knew we were making something that had so much purpose, so much heart, that had never been seen before, that had never been done before. And it was almost like, if we don’t do this, we’re not alive. I mean, we have to do this against all odds. So it defied everything. I had to keep finding a way to move forward and not stop.”

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About Dhurandhar

Written and directed by Aditya Dhar, the blockbuster spy action-thriller was co-produced by produced by Dhar, Lokesh Dhar, and Jyoti Deshpande under the Jio Studios and B62 Studios banners. It starred an array of talents including Ranveer Singh, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan, Akshaye Khanna, Sara Arjun, Rakesh Bedi, Gaurav Gera, Danish Pandor, and Manav Gohil.

As per reports, Dhurandhar grossed Rs 1,307 crore while Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge earned Rs 1,813 crore at the worldwide box office.

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Also Read: Ranveer Singh Hides New Look After Being Mobbed By Paps While Visiting Hansal Mehta’s Office-Watch

Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.