By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Thursday,
October
04,
2007
While
on
Anurag
Kashyap,
are
you
aware
Shahrukh
Khan
was
the
first
choice
for
the
principal
role
in
No
Smoking?
“He
was
keen
to
do
the
film.
He
even
said
he"d
do
it
for
his
kids.
But,
for
some
reason,
he
couldn"t
accommodate
my
film," Anurag
states.
Anurag
remembers
those
days.
“I
was
a
dejected
man.
Paanch
was
showing
no
signs
of
releasing
and
Black
Friday
was
held
up.
I
was
desperate
to
start
a
film.
One
night,
I
text-messaged
all
the
top
actors,
telling
them
about
the
script
of
No
Smoking.
The
only
person
who
responded
to
my
message
was
John
Abraham.
He
heard
the
script
the
very
next
morning
and
said
'Yes"
instantly.
He
even
said
he"d
get
a
producer
to
back
this
script,"
the
talented
director
reminisces.
Anurag
continues,
“In
the
meanwhile,
Vishal
Bhardwaj
called
to
enquire
if
I"d
be
interested
in
starting
a
film
for
his
banner.
I
narrated
No
Smoking
to
him
and
he
suggested
Saif
Ali
Khan"s
name.
But
I
told
him
that
I"d
already
committed
to
John.
That"s
how
the
ball
started
rolling."