Alia, Ranbir weren't Imtiaz's first choices for 'Highway' and 'Rockstar'
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has revealed that he initially wanted to cast a more mature actor for the 2014 movie Highway, and had former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in mind for the role. However, after meeting Alia Bhatt at an event, he changed his mind. Similarly, he also revealed that he had originally wanted to cast John Abraham in the 2011 movie Rockstar. Here are more details.
'Aishwarya without any make-up would be a great choice'
Speaking on the latest episode of Mid-Day's Sit With Hitlist series, Ali said, "I always wanted to cast a slightly elder, like a woman of at least 30. I didn't want to cast a more mature woman who's had experiences of the type that she was going to talk about in the film." He added, "Aishwarya Rai without any make-up would be a great choice."
Ali met Bhatt at 'Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana' screening
Ali said he met Bhatt at the screening of Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012), however, he had not seen her debut film Student of the Year. He said he realized that she had a high emotional quotient and started talking to her about deeper things. Ali said, "I didn't want a young person in the film, but after meeting her, I realized that what I was looking for was the emotional depth, which this little girl has."
Similarly, 'Rockstar' was meant for Abraham
Further, Ali also revealed that he had originally wanted to cast John Abraham in the 2011 movie Rockstar. The film revolves around Janardhan Jakhar, eventually played by Ranbir Kapoor, a young man from Delhi who dreams of becoming a rockstar like his idol, Jim Morrison. Ali told Mid-Day, "If John had done that film, would it have affected him in some way as an actor or would he have taken a different route, we don't know."
