Sriram Raghavan wanted Irrfan Khan, not Varun Dhawan, for Badlapur: Here's what changed his mind

Commercially and critically, Sriram Raghavan's 2015 action thriller Badlapur with Varun Dhawan was a smashing hit. Showing his capacity to immerse himself in vivid, dark characters, the film was a watershed moment in the actor's career. The filmmaker just came clean about the fact that Varun wasn't his original casting choice.

Irrfan Khan considered for Badlapur

Raghavan revealed some shocking details regarding Badlapur casting in an interview with Pinkvilla. He came clean about his original casting ideas for the film, which included Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Irrfan Khan.

The late actor and other serious actors were on his mind. According to Raghavan, Sanjay and his brother Shridhar Raghavan (watch Khakee) told him, "Don't do it," because they thought the film was too bleak.

Raghavan gave credit for casting Varun Dhawan to producer Dinesh Vijan. Badlapur was told to the producer by the filmmaker a week later. If Raghavan didn't water down the film's ferocity, Vijan would back it without hesitation. He denied that Saif Ali Khan was a possibility, citing the failure of their previous film Agent Vinod as the reason. Unless that was the case, he would have considered him as well, Raghavan pointed out.

Shift towards Varun Dhawan

When this happened, Vijan proposed casting an actor like Dhawan, who is younger. After thinking about his brother's experiences, Raghavan changed his mind. Though the filmmaker hadn't considered Dhawan for the part, he did learn that his brother Shridhar wed at 21. Therefore, Raghavan believed that young people may experience both love and sadness. He said, "So, I thought it's not a bad idea."

A twist of destiny occurred not long after that. Dhawan had contacted Vijan on the day Raghavan was visiting him. They made the decision to meet with the actor and tell him the story of the 2015 thriller at that point.

Dhawan had an immediate connection to the story. The actor asked Raghavan, "Do you think I can do it?" The filmmaker responded, "If you like it, you can do it." According to the filmmaker, that's how it happened right away, while adding, "Then Nawaz (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), in my mind, even while writing."

Badlapur went on to become a career-defining role for Dhawan and is touted to be one of his best performances.