I didn’t want to work with Bollywood superstars: Majid Majidi on not casting Deepika Padukone

Majid Majidi has finally revealed why he chose Malavika Mohanan over Deepika Padukone for Beyond the Clouds.

Renowned filmmaker Majid Majidi, who has directed Shahid Kapoor’s half-brother Ishaan Khattar's debut Bollywood film, Beyond the Clouds, has revealed why he chose Malavika Mohanan over Deepika Padukone for the film. Deepika had initially auditioned for the movie but Majidi finally chose newcomer Ishaan Khattar and Malayalam cinema actor Malavika.

Deepika Padukone had initially auditioned for the movie but Majid Majidi finally chose newcomer Ishaan Khattar and Malayalam cinema actor Malavika.

“I didn’t want to work with Bollywood superstars. I always wanted to shoot at different locations in Mumbai, because places are also characters in my films. But even for one audition, it was difficult with Deepika (Padukone) as there was a large crowd and even more curiosity. That was the reason for not wanting to cast a superstar,” a Pinkvilla report quoted the filmmaker as saying.

“I choose my subjects from the society... I choose my heroes from the crowd. I mostly work with newcomers, but this doesn’t mean that I don’t want to work with professional ones,” Majidi said at a press conference on the sidelines of IFFI.

Academy award nominee Iranian Director Majid Majidi with Indian lead casts Ishaan Khatter and Malavika Mohanan during a press conference at IFFI. (PTI)

Asian Age reported that a daily quoted Majidi: “My producers tell me that Deepika had shown some interest in the beginning and it is because of that, that I wanted her to be part of my movie.And when I asked her for a look test, it was not to doubt her professionalism. She is an excellent actress. But how much she befits the role, that is in my vision, I wanted to see. Let me tell you though, that the circumstances were such that they weren’t favourable and nothing materialised of it.”

“I work with professionals in my movies. If you see my films, I pick up people randomly from the actual habitat. In my movie, if there is an old lady or a young man, a small child, if I picked them before they had ever seen the lens (of a camera), they come out as natural actors and I get the maximum out of them,” he added.

The film also marks Majidi’s debut in Indian cinema.

Beyond the Clouds opened the 48th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa and is slated to be released next year. For the film, Majidi collaborated with an Indian cast and crew. Director Vishal Bhardwaj has written the Hindi dialogues of the film.

Beyond the Clouds, produced by Zee Studios and Shareen Mantri Kedia and Kishor Arora of Namah Pictures, revolves around the life of a young brother-sister duo from Mumbai.

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