Be it casting Vidya Balan as sex siren Silk Smitha in "The Dirty Picture" or helming Emraan Hashmi shed his serial kisser image in "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai", director Milan Luthria says he loves casting his actors against their established image.
Luthria, who has made eight films in his 14-year-long career, says he does not follow the set rules of Bollywood and would rather try out new things.
"It's fun to mix-up those which are different. For my such choices I have received much criticism. When I made 'The Dirty Picture', people even called me a porn filmmaker and thought I lost it completely by casting Vidya (Balan) in it.
"Similarly, when I chose John Abraham for 'Taxi No 9211', people were laughing at me. They thought he won't be able to carry that performance but that is one of his finest performances as an actor. I always go by my instincts to have a different star-cast," Luthria told PTI.
The film is the sequel of 2010 film, which starred Ajay Devgn and Hashmi in pivotal roles.
In the sequel "Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Dobaara", slated to release on August 15, Akshay Kumar has replaced Hashmi as Shoaib with Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha playing new characters.
