When Imran took a break

What happens when the lead actor and the director of a film decide to party together?

The story behind Imran Khan's casting in debutante director Danish Aslam's Break Ke Baad seems to have taken a leaf from the film's title. Not many are aware that Imran, who plays the committed diehard romantic Abhay in the film, had initially rejected the film after reading the first draftu00a0... only to return to the film after a break.


Aslam (right) with Khan and Padukone

Director Aslam recalls, "I don't like writing a character for a particular actor. So we began casting only after Renuka (Kunzru, the co-writer) wrote the final draft with dialogues et al. I had seen Imran in Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Naa and really liked his performance. Producer Kunal Kohli and I wanted to approach him for the role of Abhay."

But Aslam was in for disappointment. "When he first read the script, he said a flat 'no'," Danish admits. "The script was very different at that point of time. It had a different second half as well as a different end. When he rejected it, we realised the script had problems and started rewriting it. The rewriting process took us about three-four months. By then, we had given up on Imran."

So what made Imran change his mind and come aboard? Danish laughs, "I happened to bump into Imran at a common friend's (Vir Das) party and we got talking. Not about the film, though. At the end of the conversation, we realised that we had spoken for three hours and discovered we had many things in common. So, the next day, I sent him a message saying that I had rewritten the script. Would he like to read it?" Imran said yes and the rest, as they say, is history."

Getting Deepika on board, was simpler. Aslam, says, "I just went to her with the script and she said yes. I didn't have to bump into her at any parties."