Irrfan Khan was the first choice for Jaideep Ahlawat's role in Maharaj, reveals director Siddharth P Malhotra

Siddharth P Malhotra’s Netflix India film Maharaj was released on June 21. The director spoke about casting Jaideep Ahlawat for the film at a press meet.

Did you know that Irrfan Khan was the first choice for Jaideep Ahlawat’s role in Maharaj? Speaking at a press conference recently, director Siddharth P Malhotra revealed that they thought Irrfan Khan was the ‘only person’ who would suit the titular role. (Also Read: Jaideep Ahlawat on physical transformation for Maharaj: It was challenging and painful)

‘Nobody else could play it’

Irrfan Khan was the first choice to play Maharaj, played by Jaideep Ahlawat.

Siddharth revealed that the only person they could think of to play the powerful and villainous Maharaj was the late Irrfan. “The only person we could think of for that role was Irrfan Khan. There was nobody else who could play this role but Irrfan Khan," he said.

However, they realised Jaideep could also pull off the role once they thought of him after Irrfan's demise in 2020. He said, “I kept telling Jaideep sir there’s only once actor in the entire universe who can do this, and that’s him. He can do anything, he’s one of the best actors we have, undoubtedly. It took us time to convince him to do this, it was a lot of pressure on him. He’s rightfully getting all the love he gets for every film.”

Jaideep took 3 months to re-shoot

Directed by Sidharth and produced by YRF Entertainment, Maharaj features Aamir Khan's son Junaid Khan in his debut role, alongside Jaideep and Shalini Pandey, with a special appearance by Sharvari. The film is based on true events from pre-Independence India and highlights the courage of Karsandas Mulji, a social reformer who challenged the status quo in a landmark legal battle. It was released on Netflix India on June 21.