Director committed to Shahid, makers respected his vision:Arjun on Kabir Singh being offered to him

Arjun Kapoor on Saturday said though he was keen on doing "Kabir Singh", director Sandeep Reddy Vanga had already committed to Shahid Kapoor for this film.

There have been reports about Arjun being offered "Kabir Singh" and the actor said when the movie's Hindi remake rights were acquired by the makers -- Murad Khetani Ashwin Varde -- they wanted to cast him in the film.

"It did not reach that stage where I could chose or not. When the rights were being acquired by Ashwin and Murad, who made 'Mubarakan', they acquired keeping me in mind. Sandeep Vanga, the director had met Shahid and he had seen the film before and they decided to do the film together.

"The film needed Sandeep Vanga. There is a madness to that film, there is an inherent energy. It is a simple story but there was madness to the treatment. He (Sandeep) had already committed and he wanted to stick by his words and I respect that. I did not want my producers sitting around with the rights of the film and not making it out of me being in an ego tussle with anybody," Arjun said at the 10th Jagran film festival here.

The actor said he was keen on doing the film but it was a better and an obvious choice to go with the director's vision.

"Sandeep is the director of the film and he had a clearer vision of the film and without him the film wouldn't have been what it is now. Fundamentally, films chose actors and directors but in this case the intent was right from our side and we couldn't combine it.

"It doesn't mean I left it or I did not choose it. It is complicated. There are human emotions and decisions and lot of things come into picture. The director wanted somebody else because he and commited to someone it was not that he said, you can't do it. My impulse stays right as I selected the right material but then you move on in life," he added.

The actor believes Shahid was the perfect choice for the film and he is happy with the commercial success of the project.

"Shahid is a fantastic choice and he has done it fantastically. He is a fantastic actor. The film has fine Rs 275 crore."
"Maybe this is extreme but we were looking at getting the character right. It is a tough film. After doing 'Mubarakan' I chose to do this film. 'Mubarakan' was all about being in the moment, while with this film, we were exploring different takes and versions."
"Right now he is involved into editing, dubbing and VFX. He had been planning this film for three years and he prepped for it for two years, we worked on it for seven months. He is very meticulous and he has a lot of passion about this film."