When Producers Were "Not Very Enthusiastic" About Casting Imran Khan - Read His Post

Imran Khan revealed he wasn’t considered to have “any star value.”

Imran Khan is back with yet another story from the sets of his movies. The film, in discussion, is far away from his usual romantic comedy genre. Imran's character was quite opposite to his chocolate boy roles. He was frightening and mean. Can you guess the film? It's Sanjay Gadhvi's Kidnap. The 2008 film also featured Sanjay Dutt, Minissha Lamba and late actress Reema Lagoo. Imran shared a few images from the Mauritius set of Kidnap. In one of the frames, Minissha can be seen clicking Imran's photo. Recalling how he landed the role in Kidnap, Imran wrote, “I was close to wrapping the shoot of Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na... when I was called in to audition for Kidnap. Director Sanjay Gadhvi was hot off the first two Dhoom movies, and I had a shot at playing antagonist to Sanjay Dutt so it was a huge opportunity! A number of young actors were up for the parts of Kabir and Sonia; I did screen tests with a couple of actresses before Minissha Lamba was locked, and she was tested opposite a few other actors.” 

Imran Khan revealed he wasn't considered to have “any star value.” The actor wrote, “Bear in mind that since Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na had not yet released, I was not considered to have any star value, so the producers were not very enthusiastic about casting me... I got the part thanks to dual support from the director, and writer Shibani Bathija, for which I am grateful to this day.” 

Imran Khan mentioned that he was not given a complete script, and was only allowed to read the scenes that featured him. The actor claimed that the “Vikrant Raina [played by Sanjay Dutt] storyline was a complete mystery” to him until the release of the film. “Still, I was not important enough to be given a complete script; I was only allowed to read the scenes I was in, and was only given printouts of my scenes a day or two before they were scheduled to be shot. The Vikrant Raina storyline was a complete mystery to me until the release of the film! It was a very different working style than I had experienced, and I often felt intimidated by the scale of the production,” Imran added.