Ranbir Kapoor refused to work with Sonakshi Sinha in Besharam, says Abhinav Kashyap: ‘He asked me to cast Katrina Kaif’

Filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap revealed that Ranbir Kapoor wanted Katrina Kaif as the female lead in Besharam.

Bollywood filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap has been making headlines for his remarks on Salman Khan and his family, accusing them of taking away his credit for Dabangg. In a recent interview with Bollywood Thikana, Abhinav also revealed that Ranbir Kapoor refused to work with Sonakshi Sinha in Besharam and instead insisted on casting Katrina Kaif.

Abhinav Kashyap says Ranbir Kapoor wanted to cast Katrina Kaif as female lead in Besharam.

Ranbir Kapoor wanted Katrina Kaif in Besharam

Abhinav revealed that although Ranbir pushed to cast Katrina in Besharam, he rejected the idea. He explained, “No, Ranbir had asked me, ‘She wants to do the film, so consider her’. I said, ‘She is not right for the part, I need a Punjaban from Delhi’. Katrina needed to work on her accent, and I wouldn’t have been able to hide it. If you see, all of her films before then had to make it clear that she was either an NRI or a foreigner, because she couldn’t speak in Hindi. It was either that she had studied abroad or that she was living abroad.”

Abhinav added that he never had an issue with Katrina personally and even recalled telling her that the day he would have a script that requires an NRI character, he would come to her first.

Industry Couldn’t Tolerate Pallavi Sharda, Says Abhinav

The filmmaker also revealed that he was linked to actress Pallavi Sharda because, according to him, the industry could not tolerate a newcomer bagging such a big role. He said that he auditoned several actors including Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker, Tamannaah Bhatia, and Parineet Chopra for the lead role.

He that Ranbir refused to work with Sonskashi and said, “We had decided that we would find a girl who fit the role through auditions. Pallavi Sharda auditioned, and everyone liked her, including Ranbir and his parents, and the Viacom management. She was purely there on merit, but the industry didn’t like it. Pallavi had done a small role in My Name is Khan, and the industry couldn’t tolerate a supporting actor getting the lead role in a major project over so many others. It was a coveted role, and many actors reached out to me. I wanted to cast Sonakshi initially, but Ranbir said, ‘Not Sonakshi, I’m not comfortable with her’. Now, the reason behind his discomfort you’ll have to ask him. I told him that I wasn’t comfortable with Katrina. But when a newcomer enters the industry, people try to sabotage them.”

About Besharam

Released in 2013, Besharam turned out to be Abhinav’s last directorial venture. The film starred Ranbir Kapoor opposite Pallavi Sharda, alongside Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh and Jaaved Jaaferi in pivotal roles.

The story followed Babli (Ranbir Kapoor), a street-smart and shameless car mechanic who also worked as a small-time thief. He steals cars to support the orphanage where he grew up. His life changes when he falls in love with Tara (Pallavi Sharda) and decides to reform. Trouble soon arrives when he crosses paths with the ruthless villain Chandel, while being chased by Inspector Chulbul Chautala and his wife, Inspector Bulbul Chautala (played by Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh).

Despite its hype and star power, the film received largely negative reviews. Critics and audiences alike slammed its weak script and over-reliance on slapstick humour. Made on a budget of ₹83 crore, it grossed only ₹95.10 crore worldwide, making it a commercial failure.