The 2018 film Badhaai Ho, directed by Amit Sharma, was a turning point in the life of actor Gajraj Rao. To him, the film felt like offering a 5,000 sq ft villa to a person living in a 1 BHK flat. He says that he always wished to become a big actor gradually, but Badhaai Ho felt like a huge jump. Rao revealed that he was quite anxious about taking up the role and had asked the makers to rope in bigger actors. However, the makers were sure of Rao`s casting.

Tabu was the original choice for Badhaai Ho?

In a conversation on Mid-day`s Bombay Film Story, Gajraj Rao spoke about being anxious about playing the role of Jeetender Kaushik in the award-winning film. When asked if Tabu was originally supposed to play the role opposite him, he said, “Maybe Tabu was supposed to play that role.”

Why was Gajraj Rao not confident of Badhaai Ho?

However, for Rao, the biggest concern was not doing justice to the role. “My only concern was that after three days of shooting, he (Amit Sharma) shouldn’t say, ‘Oh man, I got into the wrong project.’ That feeling — it makes me anxious. I said, ‘Why don’t you do one thing — do a look test with Neena ji.’ He’s a very sharp director, very quick. Although he’s 4–5 years younger than me in age, in experience and talent, he’s 15 years ahead.”