Imran Khan Was "Never Supposed To Be Matru" - Ajay Devgn Was Cast First

"I couldn't shake the feeling that Vishal had never really wanted me for this part," wrote Imran Khan

Imran Khan has been active on social media more than ever before. On Monday, the actor talked about one of his not-so-successful projects: Vishal Bharadwaj's Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola. Released in 2013, the film also starred Anushka Sharma, Pankaj Kapur, and Shabana Azmi. Imran Khan revealed that Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola was “launched” with Ajay Devgn as Matru. However, the actor backed out before the filming could commence. Imran shared that he was “anxious and terrified through the shoot of the film” as he “couldn't shake the feeling” that Vishal Bharadwaj had never really wanted him [Imran Khan] for this part. While Imran Khan is “proud as hell” of the “bold experiment”, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola was “skewered” upon its release. 

In his long note, Imran Khan wrote, “I was never supposed to be Matru. The film was launched with Ajay Devgn attached as Matru, but he chose to withdraw before filming could commence. I was riding high off the back-to-back successes of Delhi Belly and MBKD [Mere Brother Ki Dulhan], and close to wrapping the shoot of EMAET [Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu] when I got the call; Vishal Bharadwaj wanted to meet me! I was thrilled. He told me about his passion project, a story he had been carrying close to his heart. It [Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola' was a film about greed, the economic exploitation of farmers, and the menace of unregulated development. It struck a chord with me, but I was hesitant; I would have to learn Haryanvi, and be ready to roll in less than three months! How on earth was I to pull this off?” 

Imran Khan also did a few workshops with the legendary NK Sharma to learn about Haryanvi, who “was the first person to point out the negative voice” in the actor's head. Imran Khan continued, “To accomplish this, I moved to Delhi and started intensive workshops with the legendary NK Sharma and some of his students. Panditji, as we affectionately called him, was the first person to point out the negative voice in my head. ‘You only listen to the voice that tells you you are worthless', he told me, ‘why do you disrespect the thousands of voices that say they love you?'  I listened to his words, but I didn't really hear them.”