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Shahid Kapoor Was Not The First Choice For Udta Punjab; Makers Had Considered Riz Ahmed For The Role
Abhishek Kapoor's dark comedy Udta Punjab starring Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh, clocked five years on June 17, 2021. On this occasion, in a chat with Film Companion, the film's screenwriter Sudeep Sharma shared an interesting trivia which left us a bit surprised.
Sharma revealed that Shahid was not the first choice to play the character of Tommy Singh in the film. He said that the makers were initially hoping to cast Oscar-nominated actor Riz Ahmed in the film after getting floored by his performance in Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler. Sharma further added that they never thought of casting a Bollywood actor for the role.
Film Companion quoted the screenwriter as saying, "We also dabbled with the idea of Riz Ahmed at one point of time. We never thought of a Bollywood actor for that role (Tommy Singh). We thought, why don't we go for a British-South Asian character? Because we really wanted that whole London thing in it. And Riz is a great actor."
He further added, "And I remember walking out of Nightcrawler - he had a small-ish part in that film. He wasn't that big a star, so we weren't being that unrealistic and foolish about it. I remember calling Abhishek and saying, 'Yaar, aap please picture dekho, he's outstanding and he can really fit Tommy's part.' Wishes can be horses when you're casting."
Ultimately, the role fell in Shahid Kapoor's lap and the actor received rave reviews for his portrayal of a drug addict rockstar in the film.
Earlier in an interview, the Kabir Singh actor had revealed that Tommy Singh was the scariest character he has ever played on screen.
"Tommy Singh is the scariest character that I have ever played because I don't even drink alcohol, so I don't even know what it likes to be high. So, I really have no idea what somebody is going through. I had no idea how I am going to do it. But I felt like it was a challenge that I needed to take up," an Indian Express report had quoted him as saying.
Currently, Shahid Kapoor is awaiting the release of his upcoming sports drama Jersey which is a Hindi remake of Nani's National Award winning film by the same name. The actor is all set to make his digital debut with Raj & DK's upcoming project alongside Raashi Khanna.
