No Ghanchakkar for Irrfan Khan

Actor Irrfan, who has an array of projects in hand that he is supposed to start shooting for by end of this month, had apparently shown interest in the Emraan Hashmi- Vidya Balan starrer Ghanchakkar.

Actor Irrfan, who has an array of projects in hand that he is supposed to start shooting for by end of this month, had apparently shown interest in the Emraan Hashmi- Vidya Balan starrer Ghanchakkar.

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However, director Rajkumar Gupta realised that his shooting dates clashed with Irrfan’s last schedule of Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster’s sequel and went ahead with another actor.

A trade source reveals that Irrfan met Rajkumar a couple of times and was keen on being a part of the project. “Though it was not the lead role, he was interested in a particular character,” says the source.

Rajkumar was also keen to have him on board, but certain dynamics were not falling in place. “Though the role was not of Irrfan’s stature, he was considering the actor. However, his shooting schedule was clashing with another film that Irrfan was doing, so he had to politely say no to him,” says the source.

The makers then signed Rajesh Sharma for the character and Namit Das was chosen for another role. “Raj wanted relatively new faces and we are happy with the casting,” says Manish Hariprasad, creative director of UTV-Disney, which is producing the film.

When contacted, Rajkumar says, “The best way to cast for characters is via auditions. Rajesh and Namit have been outstanding. That’s why they have been finalised to play two important characters.”