Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Biography Reveals Daniel Craig Had Auditioned For Rang De Basanti
The young jailor who walks Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev to be hanged, was none other than current James Bond, Daniel Craig," recalls Mehra in his autobiography The Stranger in the Mirror.
Daniel
Craig
had
auditioned
for
the
role
of
the
British
jailor
who
walks
freedom
fighters
Bhagat
Singh,
Rajguru
and
Sukhdev
to
be
hanged
in
Rakeysh
Omprakash
Mehra's
Rang
De
Basanti
but
eventually
could
not
feature
in
the
film
as
he
was
being
also
considered
to
be
the
next
James
Bond
that
time.
Mehra,
previously
an
ad
filmmaker,
says
he
wanted
to
create
world
cinema
and
wanted
the
backend
to
be
managed
with
perfection
and
discipline.
He
was
able
to
rope
in
David
Reid
and
Adam
Bowling,
who
had
two
cult
classics
behind
them
as
executive
producers
-
Lock,
Stock
and
Two
Smoking
Barrels
(1998)
and
Snatch
(2000).
The
London-based
duo
loved
the
script
of
Rang
De
Basanti,
gave
up
their
homes
on
rent
and
shifted
to
India
to
set
up
the
film,
says
Mehra.
"They
were
responsible
for
casting
Alice
Patten
and
Steven
Mackintosh
for
the
parts
of
Sue
and
James
McKinley,
respectively.
I
remember
vividly
that
one
of
the
people
who
auditioned
for
the
part
of
James
McKinley,
the
young
jailor
who
walks
Bhagat
Singh,
Rajguru
and
Sukhdev
to
be
hanged,
was
none
other
than
current
James
Bond,
Daniel
Craig," recalls
Mehra
in
his
autobiography
The
Stranger
in
the
Mirror.
Craig
came
through
David
and
Adam.
"Daniel
Craig
was
my
first
choice
but
he
requested
if
we
could
allow
some
time
as
he
was
also
being
considered
to
be
the
next
James
Bond.
The
rest,
as
they
say,
is
history," says
the
director
of
critically
acclaimed
films
like
Rang
De
Basanti,
Delhi-6
and
Bhaag
Milkha
Bhaag.
He
also
writes
how
he
had
almost
finalised
Peter
Gabriel,
one
of
the
founding
members
of
the
British
rock
band
Genesis,
to
work
on
Rang
De
Basanti,
but
something
inside
him
said
that
A
R
Rahman
should
be
doing
it.
"The
music
of
RDB
was
the
soul
of
the
film;
the
songs
AR
created
became
de
facto
national
anthems," he
says.
The
Stranger
in
the
Mirror,
co-written
by
marketer-author
Reeta
Ramamurthy
Gupta
and
published
by
Rupa,
is
peppered
with
anecdotes
from
Mehra's
life
-
from
the
'chai-biscuit'-hostel
days
to
the
popping
of
the
proverbial
champagne.
The
book
features
first
person
accounts
of
some
of
the
most
prolific
names
of
Indian
cinema
and
the
advertising
world
-
Waheeda
Rahman,
AR
Rahman,
Manoj
Bajpayee,
Abhishek
Bachchan,
Farhan
Akhtar,
Sonam
Kapoor,
Raveena
Tandon,
Ronnie
Screwvala,
Atul
Kulkarni,
R
Madhavan,
Divya
Dutta
and
Prahlad
Kakar.
It
has
a
foreword
by
A
R
Rahman
and
an
afterword
by
Aamir
Khan.
Perhaps
for
the
first
time,
QR
codes
are
provided
in
a
book
for
enhanced
reader
experience.
Readers
can
scan
the
codes
in
the
book
and
this
will
lead
to
a
particular
scene
or
song
from
the
film
concerned.
In
the
book,
Mehra
also
mentions
his
love
for
sports
and
how
he
almost
made
it
to
the
Indian
swimming
squad
at
the
1982
Asian
Games.
"I
was
the
youngest
on
the
team,
and
made
it
all
the
way
to
the
final
training
camp
for
the
contingent
that
trained
for
the
Asian
Games.
My
teammates
eventually
won
the
bronze
at
the
1982
Asian
Games
in
Delhi.
"Though
I
never
made
it
to
the
final
national
team
for
the
Asian
Games,
sports
was
a
way
of
life
and
continues
to
be,"
the
director,
who
has
helmed
sports-based
films
like
Bhaag
Milkha
Bhaag
and
his
latest
Toofaan,
says.
On
his
association
with
A
R
Rahman,
he
writes,
"One
of
the
greatest
joys
of
my
life
has
been
to
be
inside
the
recording
studio
when
AR
is
creating
a
song
of
mine,
not
because
I
feel
the
need
to
guide
but
because
I
enjoy
seeing
his
creative
genius
at
work."
"AR
understands
something
very
fundamental:
there's
only
one
truth
when
you're
making
a
film
-
that
you're
making
that
one
film.
Music,
editing,
cinematography,
art
direction,
wardrobe,
lyrics,
actors
etc.
all
have
to
tell
that
same
story.
They
all
have
to
serve
the
film
and
the
director's
job
is
to
remind
each
artist
of
the
one
vision
that
everyone
is
working
towards,"
Mehra
says
of
the
Oscar
winner
with
whom
he
has
also
worked
in
Delhi-6.
Mehra
also
mentions
how
he
planned
to
launch
Abhishek
Bachchan
in
a
film
called
Samjhauta
Express
but
it
did
not
materialise.
Just
before
they
were
to
shoot
the
first
schedule
in
Ladakh,
Jaya
Bachchan
called
Mehra
to
say
that
Refugee
will
be
Abhishek's
first
film,
and
not
Samjhauta
Express.
Mehra
was
"deeply
disappointed
and
crestfallen" and
declared
that
he
would
never
make
Samjhauta
Express.
He
took
the
script
and
all
the
research
work,
location
pictures,
wardrobe
trials
and
burnt
them
in
a
bonfire
on
his
terrace
on
the
barbecue
stove.
"I
understood
the
decision
(Abhishek's)
rationally.
My
script
involved
Abhishek
playing
a
Pakistan-sponsored
terrorist
in
his
first
film,
which
was
against
the
grain
of
how
Indian
audiences
perceive
their
hero...
I
couldn't
help
but
wonder:
what
is
the
right
launch
pad
for
an
actor
with
a
gargantuan
legacy
like
Abhishek?"
he
writes.
The
director
and
Abhishek
Bachchan,
son
of
veteran
stars
Jaya
and
Amitabh
Bachchan,
later
went
on
to
work
together
in
Delhi-6,
which
was
released
nine
years
after
the
actor's
debut
Refugee
(2000).
Mehra
also
talks
about
how
mirrors
have
always
fascinated
him
in
the
process
of
creation.
"There
is
a
movie
outside
the
movie
I
am
making.
I
don't
even
know
how
I
will
frame
my
next
shot.
So,
I
let
go
of
the
feeling
of
wanting
to
know.
Suddenly,
the
creation
becomes
seamless."
Mirrors,
he
says,
are
more
than
a
way
to
check
the
make-up
as
they
reveal
the
innards
of
one's
soul.
He
used
the
mirror
in
his
films
like
Bhaag
Milkha
Bhaag,
Mirzya
and
Rang
De
Basanti.
In
Delhi-6,
he
says
"I
have
used
the
mirror
to
express
my
anger
and
anguish
at
society
at
large".