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.