Rajkummar
Rao
and
Hansal
Mehta
first
teamed
up
for
Shahid
in
2013
and
went
on
to
work
together
in
films
like
Citylights,
Aligarh,
Omerta
and
Chhalaang.
Besides
their
professional
collaborations,
the
duo
also
share
a
great
bond
off
screen.
However,
you
would
be
surprised
to
know
that
there
was
a
time
when
Mehta
was
apprehensive
about
casting
Rajkummar
in
their
first
collaboration,
Shahid.
Hansal
Mehta
recently
make
this
revelation
in
an
interview
with
Mashable
India
and
said
that
he
agreed
to
meet
the
Stree
actor
only
on
the
insistence
of
casting
director
Mukesh
Chhabra
and
filmmaker
Anurag
Kashyap.
Hansal
told
the
portal,
"I
was
not
ready
to
meet
him
(Rao).
Anurag
Kashyap
and
Mukesh
Chhabra
told
me
to
at
least
meet
him
once.
I
said,
'Mil
kar
kya
karun,
paise
vaise
bhi
nahi
mil
rahe
picture
banane
ke
(Why
should
I
meet,
I
am
anyways
not
getting
money
to
make
the
movie)'.
How
will
I
be
able
to
make
the
movie
with
Rajkummar
Yadav,
he
was
then
named
that."
The
Citylights
director
said
that
Mukesh
Chhabra
was
confident
about
Rajkummar
Rao
and
one
day,
called
him
to
inform
that
Rao
was
standing
outside
his
office.
He
said,
"Acha
ladka
hai,
chai
pilaa
kar
bhej
dena
bas'.
(He
is
a
nice
boy.
Just
offer
a
cup
of
tea
and
send
him
away)."
Hansal
Mehta
revealed
that
Rajkummar
Rao
walked
into
his
office
and
they
spoke
for
over
an
hour.
The
filmmaker
said
that
after
their
first
meeting,
he
was
convinced
about
casting
Rajkummar
Rao
in
Shahid.
"I
look
for
a
vibe
when
I
cast
a
person.
I
cast
him
because
I
liked
him.
There
was
something
very
beautiful
about
him," Mehta
told
the
portal.
Shahid
is
based
on
the
life
of
lawyer
and
human
rights
activist
Shahid
Azmi,
who
was
assassinated
in
2010.
Rajkummar
Rao
bagged
a
National
Award
for
Best
Actor
for
this
film
while
Hansal
Mehta
won
the
Best
Director
award.