Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor won hearts with their sweet chemistry in 2 States. However, author Chetan Bhagat recently revealed how they weren`t the first choices for the film. The author, from whose book the film was adapted, revealed that Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra were initially considered for the project, while Vishal Bhardwaj was to direct it.
Chetan Bhagat on 2 States
During a recent interview with Pinkvilla, Chetan shared that at one point it was filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj had initially considered adapting his book 2 States into a film. Chetan revealed, “There was a time Vishal Bharadwaj was going to make it. There was a time when Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Priyanka Chopra’s names were talked about. I think 2 States sabhi ke naam ka article to aaya hi tha (I think articles mentioning names of most of the actors did come out).”
He further added, “To be honest, when they said, there is a new director and it`s Arjun Kapoor who had one movie and Alia Bhatt who had one movie, Student Of The Year. I was like ‘okay’, but this is not what was discussed. It was such a nice casting, and it made the movie fresh because they were young. If it were older actors, I don`t know, maybe they would have done a great job. But it was very surprising.”
2 States stars Arjun Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Ronit Roy, Amrita Singh and Revathy. Released in 2014, the film is based on a bestseller by author Chetan Bhagat and has been helmed by Abhishek Varman.
Chetan Bhagat on casting for Kai Po Che
Similarly, 2014`s Kai Po Che! was also inspired by Bhagat`s novel The Three Mistakes Of My Life and was directed by Abhishek Kapoor. Talking of the casting of the film, he shared, “For Kai Po Che! too, we had brand-new actors. We tried everybody, and they all said no. All the stars rejected it, so we had to cast Sushant Singh Rajput, who was a TV actor back then, along with Rajkummar Rao and Amit Sadh, who weren`t known names. I had very little hope from the movie, but it became one of the best adaptations. And now, all three are established stars.”
