Sriram Raghavan’s Johnny Gaddar remains a cult favourite. It also marked the debut of Neil Nitin Mukesh in a lead role. But what many may not know is that the role almost went uncast, as no actor was willing to take it up. In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, Sriram opened up about the casting challenges he faced. He recalled approaching several actors, including Akshaye Khanna.
“Maine Akshaye Khanna ko sunaya story… but he didn’t like it… he said it’s a negative character… (I narrated the story to Akshaye Khanna… but he didn’t like it… he said it’s a negative character).” He added, “In fact, a lot of people rejected it saying it was negative. So I was preferring to do it with a newcomer. That’s when my producer Jhamu Sughand suggested Neil. He had done a test with him… in fact, Anurag (Kashyap) or I guess Vikram (Motwane) had done a test. I met Neil, narrated the story and he was very excited and I thought, chalo iske saath hi karte hai (Let’s do it with him).”
Sriram also remembered how Jhamu Sughand backed the film despite the absence of big stars — except Dharmendra, whose casting had its own fascinating story. He admitted he was initially apprehensive about approaching Dharmendra, having grown up watching him and knowing he was a Member of Parliament at the time. Sugandh suggested he first approach Nana Patekar, joking, “Tera phir Maharashtra mein safe ho jayega picture (Then your film will be safe in Maharashtra).”
However, the meeting with Nana didn’t go as planned. Sriram recalled, “In the middle of the narration, he said, ‘Tu aisa kya story lekar aata hai hamesha, crime and this and that’ (Why do you always come with such crime stories?).” Trying to lighten the mood, Sriram said, “Don’t worry, your character gets killed in five minutes.” This made Nana turn the film down immediately.
Eventually, he did meet Dharmendra. “I was very nervous meeting him, but he was very attentive,” he shared. He recounted being especially anxious about revealing that Dharmendra’s character dies at the interval. “In his mind, he was already making his own plotline and arc for his character.” When he broke the news, Dharmendra was shocked but still asked him to narrate the second half. After hearing the entire story, Dharmendra candidly told him, “Your second half is a bit weak, work on it… something seems missing.” At first, Sriram thought the feedback was because Dharmendra’s character was absent after the interval. But Dharmendra clarified otherwise.
Sriram admitted that it was only after discussing with his DOP and editor Pooja Ladha Surti that they realised Dharmendra’s instincts were correct. They eventually added the character played by Govind Namdev, which significantly intensified the second half’s tension and thrill.
