Dhurandhar Casting: How Aditya Dhar Built a Power-Packed Ensemble With Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Ranveer Singh And Others

Dhurandhar Casting: Before becoming one of the most talked-about films of the year, Dhurandhar faced an unexpected challenge: convincing its powerhouse actors to say yes. Mukesh Chhabra now reveals how patience, vision, and smart casting

Big stars were unsure in the beginning

Casting director Mukesh Chhabra revealed that bringing major names like Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, and Arjun Rampal into Dhurandhar was not easy at first. While R Madhavan immediately showed confidence in the project, the others needed time to warm up to the idea. Early discussions around the film involved a completely different set of actors, and the scale of the ensemble was far more modest.

As the creative conversations deepened, however, the team began to see the potential of building a much bigger and more ambitious cast. What started as uncertainty slowly transformed into belief, laying the foundation for the film’s now-celebrated ensemble.

Mukesh Chhabra pushed for a bigger casting vision

One of the most interesting revelations from Chhabra’s interaction was how the casting strategy evolved. He shared that director Aditya Dhar and he initially had a different line-up in mind, but he encouraged Dhar to think on a larger canvas. The idea was simple: if the story had weight, the casting should match that scale.

That creative push changed the direction of the film. Instead of playing safe, the makers aimed for a line-up filled with accomplished performers and strong screen presence. The gamble paid off, as the multi-star cast has now become one of Dhurandhar’s most celebrated strengths.

Impact mattered more than screen time

A major reason behind the actors’ hesitation was the limited number of shooting days and, by extension, screen time. In an industry where role length often influences decisions, convincing stars to take on shorter parts can be difficult. Chhabra explained that actors like Madhavan and Arjun Rampal were required on set for barely 12 days.

The makers focused on selling the strength of the character rather than the duration of the role. Their pitch was that what truly stays with the audience is impact, not minutes on screen. Looking at the overwhelming response to the performances, that approach clearly worked, proving that even brief roles can leave a lasting mark when written well.