The stark resemblance that he bears with his muse, coupled with his nuanced act, as is evident in the film's trailer, is reason to believe that few could have played the role of the late politico Balasaheb Thackeray, better than Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Yet, casting director Rohan Mapuskar reveals that it was, in fact, Irrfan Khan who was the first choice for the part.

"Director Abhijit Panse, Sanjay Raut and I were brainstorming on who we'd like to cast and were contemplating [roping in] Irrfan. We had [superimposed] his image to see if it matched that of Mr Thackeray, and were convinced," says Mapuskar, who had to opt for another name, given the actor's unavailability. "Irrfan, who was busy with another film, said he could only consider it after two to three months."