![\"Mukesh](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-129781629,imgsize-64638,width-400,resizemode-4\/129781629.jpg\" "\\"Fresh")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFresh off the thunderous success of Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, casting director Mukesh Chhabra<\/a> is soaking in what he calls a defining phase in his journey.\u201cIt took me 20 years to reach here, after doing over 300 films,\u201d Chhabra told Hollywood Reporter India, reflecting on the film\u2019s impact on his career. <\/p>\n Watch<\/span><\/p>\n Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge: The Untold Stories Behind The Biggest Blockbuster<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Chhabra, who began his journey with Rang De Basanti (2006), recalled how casting in Bollywood has undergone a massive shift over the years.\u201cThey used to cast the same three people in every film\u2014same villain, same right hand, same mother, same sister, same driver. Now the audience gets to see so many new actors and faces,\u201d he said.He pointed out that today, \u201cevery single director in Bollywood, even the big directors making commercial films, has a casting director,\u201d marking a significant evolution in storytelling.<\/p>\n At a time when the industry is debating influencer-led casting, Chhabra drew a clear line.\u201cWe keep recording data. But I only focus on a film once I get a script. I personally don\u2019t find talent through Instagram,\u201d he said, emphasising his reliance on auditions and grassroots scouting.<\/p>\n For Dhurandhar 2, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, the casting process was anything but straightforward.\u201cWe were discussing so many actors\u2019 names for the film, but they kept saying no, because they didn\u2019t want to be part of an ensemble film,\u201d Chhabra revealed, recalling the struggle to cast key roles like the antagonist Rehman Dakait.He added, \u201cSometimes you don\u2019t have to create a look for an actor,\u201d stressing the importance of natural fit over cosmetic transformation. Interestingly, after the film\u2019s release, several actors who had declined roles reached out again\u2014this time with regret.One of the biggest casting wins came with Akshaye Khanna<\/a>.\u201cAkshaye Khanna\u2019s name came towards the end… when I first called him, he said, \u2018Are you mad?\u2019 But I told him to at least hear the story. After the narration, he said \u2018Fantastic!\u2019 and confirmed within the day,\u201d Chhabra shared.Similarly, R Madhavan came on board almost instantly.\u201cI told him, trust me, we need only 10\u201312 days… he immediately said yes. He brought an authority to his performance. There is no action\u2014he speaks calmly and never loses control,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Watch<\/span><\/p>\n These Dhurandhar 2 Viral Faces Were Always Around But No One Noticed Until Now <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Chhabra\u2019s philosophy remains distinct.\u201cI don\u2019t think about acting. I only think about casting for my character. If the acting is not that great but the actor is correct for my part, I will go with that actor,\u201d he explained.That instinct extended to Dhurandhar 2, where he pushed for exhaustive casting.\u201cI wanted to cast every single person on screen… my team spent two years auditioning and casting over 300 people for the film,\u201d he revealed. <\/p>\n The film also became a platform for discovering new talent, including Sara Arjun.\u201cWhen I saw her audition, I went mad. The scene where she confronts Ranveer Singh about being an Indian agent\u2014that was her audition,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Poll<\/p>\n What do you prefer: established stars or fresh talent in films?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Today, as Dhurandhar 2 becomes both a box-office and cultural phenomenon, the spotlight is firmly on casting as a craft.More about ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’Directed by Aditya Dhar, the film features Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Rakes Bedi, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, and Sara Arjun in key role. The star cast also includes Danish Pandor, Gaurav Gera, Mustafa Ahmed, Danish Iqbal, Saumya Tandon, and more.It was released in theaters on March 19, 2026.<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source timesofindia.indiatimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fresh off the thunderous success of Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, casting director Mukesh Chhabra is soaking in what he calls a defining phase in his journey. \u201cIt took me 20 years to reach here, after doing over 300 films,\u201d Chhabra told Hollywood Reporter India, reflecting on the film\u2019s impact on his career. Fresh off the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2344560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[454774,416731,422919,454775,454776,340971,454773,413253,454772,415466],"class_list":["post-2344559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-actors-rejected-akshaye-khanna-dhurandhar-role","tag-akshaye-khanna","tag-dhurandhar-2","tag-dhurandhar-2-casting","tag-dhurandhar-casting-director","tag-mukesh-chhabra","tag-mukesh-chhabra-dhurandhar-casting","tag-r-madhavan","tag-rehman-dakait","tag-sara-arjun"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Dhurandhar-2-Mukesh-Chhabra-reveals-actors-rejected-Akshaye-Khannas-role.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2344559"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2344561,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344559\/revisions\/2344561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2344560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2344559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2344559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2344559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}From \u2018same faces\u2019 to a casting revolution<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t find talent on Instagram\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Many actors rejected Rehman Dakait’s role<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t think about acting, only casting\u2019<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Finding fresh faces: Sara Arjun<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n