Rajkummar Rao Reveals He Was To Play Lead In Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur: ‘He Changed It...'

In Anurag Kashyap’s iconic film Gangs of Wasseypur, Rajkummar Rao took on a minor role. Despite making a name for himself in the industry through films like Love Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD) and Ragini MMS, Rajkummar readily accepted the part of the small-time hood Shamshad Alam in Anurag’s film without any hesitation. In a recent conversation with Mashable India, the actor shared the reasons behind his decision.

Initially, Rajkummar had been lined up for a more substantial role in the film. The role would have set his character against Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Faisal Khan. However, Anurag later changed the film’s storyline and the extent of Rajkummar’s part. Reflecting on this, Rajkummar shared, that Anurag watched LSD and called him. “I was hoping that filmmakers watch LSD and take a shot with me. He told me he was making Gangs of Wasseypur. At that stage, the film was about my character and Nawaz’s. It was about their rivalry. I was thrilled to have gotten an Anurag Kashyap film after LSD, and that too as a parallel lead,” he said.

Rajkummar and Nawaz started getting ready for their roles, spending about 10 days in Wasseypur to learn the local way of speaking. Then, one day, Anurag called Rajkummar and said that he had changed the film Gangs of Wasseypur quite a bit. It was now going to be in two parts, and Rajkummar’s character wouldn’t be as important as originally planned. Anurag told Rajkummar that he could back out if he wanted, but Rajkummar never considered that. He was excited to work with Anurag Kashyap, after all.

Even though the role wasn’t big, the actor is happy he took it. While filming Gangs of Wasseypur 2, Rajkummar met casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who introduced him to Hansal Mehta. This led to his role in Shahid (2012). The success of Shahid boosted Rajkummar’s reputation in the industry as a talented actor.