EXCLUSIVE: Stree 2 star Abhishek Banerjee wasn’t the first choice for Jana in Stree; reveals how he landed the role after being rejected: “Amar Kaushik showed by audition to Dinesh Vijan”

The recent success of Stree 2 has sparked a flurry of discussions, from the film's box office performance to behind-the-scenes tidbits. In a candid conversation, actor Abhishek Banerjee shared a surprising revelation about his breakout role as Jana in the 2018 horror-comedy Stree. The actor, who is now widely recognized for his portrayal of the quirky and endearing character who returned in Bhediya and Stree 2, revealed that he wasn’t initially supposed to play the role. Another actor had been considered for the part.

In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Abhishek recounted how he didn’t want to play the role before but director Amar Kaushik had originally auditioned him for the role. However, he didn’t get cast for Jana and some other actor had landed the role. Due to some casting changes, Amar Kaushik showed the audition tape to producer Dinesh Vijan and the decision was made to cast him as Jana. “Raj & DK had written the character (in the first part). They had imagined me in that role because they didn’t know me at that time. But, Amar was convinced that I could play Jana’s role. I refused to do the role saying, ‘I don’t want to do this role. This is such a dumb guy. People will laugh at me.’ But, he said you have to do this role.”

Banerjee went on to say, “I gave the audition and after giving the audition, as I am a casting director myself, I knew that no one can play this role better than me. I was rejected for the role at first after the audition. Some other actor was supposed to do this role. I was heartbroken as I was convinced that this was my kind of role. I messaged Amar Kaushik after a month saying, ‘You don’t understand that you won’t get an actor for this role better than me.’ Amar was like ‘I know but the selection is done already.’ I was heartbroken.”

He continued, “Amar called me after a few days to ask if I was available in January. I was shooting for something else that time but I said I am not doing anything. He said that I will call you in the evening. Amar Kaushik showed my audition to Dinesh Vijan, and he liked it. That’s how I got the part of Jana. Some things are written in destiny and I think that’s what happened with me.”

Stree 2, helmed by Amar Kaushik, stars Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee and Pankaj Tripathi. Released on Independence Day 2024, the film has garnered Rs. 421.85 crores at the box office till now.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Abhishek Banerjee reacts to controversy surrounding similarities between Stree 2 and Stranger Things posters: “Hamara toh kaam hai poster pe aana …”

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