Akshaye Khanna’s turn as Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar may now be seen as one of the film’s most sharply remembered performances, but the role almost slipped away before it ever reached him. Casting director Mukesh Chhabra has revealed that not only did several major stars reject the part, Akshaye himself initially pushed back when he was first approached to play the antagonist.
Mukesh Chhabra On The Casting Twist
Speaking on Shekhar Tonite, Mukesh Chhabra said, “I can tell this now that 2-3 very big stars had said no for this role. They thought that it’s an ensemble cast and the director hasn’t worked since 7 years. The last film was Uri. They do a lot of calculations. When an artiste starts thinking with his mind instead of heart, then that’s a problem.”
He then shared Akshaye Khanna’s first reaction to the offer, and it was far from an instant yes. “When I told the story to Akshaye bhai, he said, ‘Paagal hogaya hai kya tu? Villain kyu karunga mai (Are you mad? Why would I play the villain?). After listening to the story for five minutes, he said fantastic and said yes the same day. I knew he would kill it. Akshaye added his own touch to Aditya Dhar’s writing. He got the right opportunity, the right script, at the right time.”
That hesitation makes the turnaround even more striking, especially because Rehman Dakait became one of the most discussed characters in the franchise.
Praise For Aditya Dhar And Ranveer Singh
Mukesh also spoke warmly about Aditya Dhar’s command over the material. “After the narration, I was quiet for half an hour. The script that Aditya wrote was just amazing. After executing it, it was x100. Aditya Dhar only listens to himself. He is very sure of himself. He has the conviction of doing what he wants,” he said.
On Ranveer Singh’s place within the ensemble, Chhabra added, “Hats off to Ranveer. If you tell a young hero today that you just have to stand and walk behind, he wouldn’t do it. Ranveer knew what was going to happen in the second half. He just surrendered in this film, and you have the result in front of you today.”
Dhurandhar And Akshaye Khanna’s Current Run
Written and directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar released in theatres on December 5, 2025, while Dhurandhar: The Revenge followed on March 19, 2026. The duology starred Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan, Sara Arjun and Rakesh Bedi, with the story unfolding as a large-scale spy action thriller.
Akshaye Khanna’s Recent And Upcoming Work
Akshaye Khanna’s last few releases have underlined his strong second innings as a character-driven performer. Before Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge, he was seen in Drishyam 2 in 2022, where his restrained performance drew praise in a major commercial success. His upcoming slate includes Ikka, which is listed on IMDb as a 2026 release, keeping him in the mix of high-profile Hindi film projects.
Stay tuned with us for the latest news, Hindi box office news, Hollywood news, OTT news, the latest Bollywood news, and the latest box office news.
