"Abhishek was my first choice for Delhi 6" - Rakeysh Mehra

After the critical and audience appreciation he got aplenty for his last film, Rang De Basanti director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is now looking forward to his next Delhi 6 starring Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor. Delhi 6 just like his RDB is based on the story centering in an around Delhi, "Especially the old city of Delhi whose pin code is 110006. I have tried to boldly narrate the story of people in Delhi" says Rakeysh Mehra.

Incidentally Rakeysh Mehra's last venture Rang De Basanti was also based on Delhi. "Yes, but unfortunately my last film did not travel beyond cities like Jaipur. Now I hope Delhi 6 goes beyond those cities. I want the film to be showcased in villages and towns of our country.

There was a buzz that Rakeysh considered Hrithik Roshan and later Ranbir Kapoor before zeroing on Abhishek Bachchan for the role. "Abhishek was always my first choice. In fact I spoke to him about the film 6 years ago but the film didn't happen and I did Rang De Basanti in the the meantime. Yes for the girl I auditioned many girls for the film but it was not happening. I looked here in India and abroad and a friend suggested Sonam's name. I went to meet her for ' an hour but we ended up talking for 6 hours. Her immediate response and interpretation of the character was taking it even further" he reveals.

The promo shows Jumma Masjid on one side and the Stature of Liberty on the other. "My character Roshan Mehra played by Abhishek comes to India. He is an Indian born in America. He comes to drop his grandma to India. He likes the country, feels the homeliness here, and stays back. The statue of Liberty is symbolic of west. It shows the new thinking of today" informs Rakeysh.

The film has music by A.R. Rahman. "What can I say? Whatever I say will be an understatement of the century. He's got his own originality he has given India music. He's the soul of my music. He had earlier bridged the gap of North and South now he has bridged the East West gap" concludes Rakeysh.