It has been 10 years since Gangs Of Wasseypur was released in theatres. With an ensemble cast of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Manoj Bajpayee, Huma Qureshi, and Richa Chadha, the movie has grown to become a cult classic. However, in a recent interview, Rajkummar Rao revealed that initially, he was to play one of the lead roles.
Speaking to Zakir Khan for Netflix India, Rajkummar Rao said, “After watching LSD (Love Sex Aur Dhokha), Anurag Sir called me and said, I am making a film and come and meet me. So when I met him, there was just a story, rather the structure of a story. And at that time, the film he narrated was Faisal Khan (Nawazuddin) vs Shamshad Alam (Rajkummar). Nawaz and I went to Wasseypur and I had a small tape recorder, which I used to record the people there.”
As the script went on to take the final form, Rajkummar Rao added that Anurag Kashyap had informed him that his role was cut short. The director asked if Rao would still work on the project. The actor said, “I said, of course! I am getting a chance to work with you. And I am glad I did actually.”
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Rajkummar Rao played a small but significant role as Shamshad Alam in Gangs Of Wasseypur. The film gave him the recognition he deserved and since then he has played many several award-winning roles.
You can watch the full interview here.