Abhay Verma: ‘My role was to be played by Shraddha or Alia’

Shraddha Kapoor and Alia Bhatt

What's the best way to gauge a movie's success? Box-office figures, of course. But the number of calls you get over the release weekend can be another indicator perhaps - something that Abhay Verma experienced over the past four days. His phone hasn't stopped ringing since his maiden big-screen release, Munjya, became a sleeper hit. "When Karan Johar texts you, saying, ‘You are a phenomenal performer,' you don't need more because he is such a visionary. It's like getting that rare praise from your parents," he laughs.

Director Aditya Sarpotdar's horror comedy has earned over R24 crore in the first four days - an impressive figure when both big- and mid-size films are struggling to register respectable numbers at the box office. For Verma, who featured in the Sara Ali Khan-led Ae Watan Mere Watan and the second season of The Family Man, the film is a reminder of how destiny works in mysterious ways. "My character was supposed to be a girl earlier. It was to be played by Shraddha Kapoor, and before her, by Alia Bhatt. The character went through changes over four-five years. I am the only hero to have replaced heroines!"

It was also a stroke of luck that the actor, who was a fan of Dinesh Vijan's films since Cocktail (2012), found himself in the producer's horror comedy universe. He reveals that Vijan and Sarpotdar chose him after they conducted auditions spanning eight to 10 months. "My director wanted to gauge how I portrayed fear. Horror comedy is a tricky genre - when you are scared, it should evoke laughter in the audience. Dinesh sir told me, ‘We don't believe in taking only stars. We believe in making stars, and you will become [one] after Munjya.'"

To the Panipat-born boy who came to Mumbai six-and-a-half years ago to try his luck in the movies, his journey is influenced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. "I had failed a few exams. I was quite down and went to watch Ram-Leela [2013]. I entered the theatre as a loser, but came out as a winner, who had the dream of entertaining people. I came to Mumbai solely for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's art."