Dibakar Banerjee: I was adamant on casting Jaideep Ahlawat in Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar

Jaideep Ahlawat

Dibakar Banerjee considers Jaideep Ahlawat an ‘absolute revelation' in B-Town. After Raazi (2018) and Paatal Lok (2020), the actor will showcase his acting chops in Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. He plays a cop in Banerjee's upcoming thriller.

Banerjee does not see him as a villain, or as a tough character, but as a ‘good actor'. Dibakar says, "I remember fighting a very, very tough fight with my producing partner on some film. I was absolutely adamant on casting Jaideep in that role because it was completely villainous. It was completely against anything that Jaideep was or had done till that time and I had done that because I know Jaideep as an actor and I think we will be committing a big mistake if we sort of confined Jaideep to dark and underground and that kind of character types that you can think of."

He adds, "I think Jaideep is one of the most versatile and deepest actors who has come onto the scene these days. When I wanted to cast Tyagi (Jaideep's role in SAPF), I did not want to cast a villain. I don't see Jaideep Ahlawat as a villain or as a negative person or a tough character. I don't see that at all, I just see that he is a bloody good actor. Anybody who has seen Lust Stories can see him in a completely different role."

Starring Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor, the film is set to release on March 19.