Anurag Kashyap: For Bombay Velvet My First Choice was Saif Ali Khan

Dec 26,2014

“Before it finally landed with Ranbir Kapoor,”Director Anurag Kashyap approached actors like Aamir, Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan for his ambitious period drama 'Bombay Velvet'.  He also told that it all just because he needed a big star to raise the for the big budgeted film ‘Bombay Velvet’.
 
While the movie is currently in post-production and Celebrity like Anushka sharma & karan johar also featuring in the movie.



Based on author Gyan Prakash's book, Mumbai Fables, Bombay Velvet chronicles the story of how the city became a metropolis. The Bombay of 1950s and '60s recreated in Sri Lanka. Anurag now plans to release it in May next year.

 
 
"Bombay Velvet was expensive from the beginning. It is the most tight budget film of my career. It is a Rs 300 crore movie that we have made into Rs 90 crore. I wanted someone who was not only a good actor but also made it possible for me to raise that kind of money," Anurag told PTI.


 
"My first choice when I wrote the film in 2006 was Saif Ali Khan. From there it went to Aamir and Hrithik. This film has gone around before landing with Ranbir. We also tried to make it with Ranveer Singh but we could raise only Rs 40 to 50 crore," he added.



Anurag said,"It is still very difficult because when you make a successful film, they want you to keep repeating it. Some of the most successful filmmakers have repeated their first success in 10 different ways. It is a struggle to avoid falling into that trap; There are a lot of stories but people will know the truth only when Bombay Velvet comes out. It is still a very real film despite being expensive. I have not spent money on something where people fly through air. Nothing flies in my film except birds."


 
Anurag has come a long way from his troubled debut with Black Friday. He has the success of Dev D and Gangs of Wasseypur behind him but that has not made it easy for him to raise money for his projects.

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