Akshaye Khanna was first choice for Drishyam 2, says director

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Drishyam 2 has been the talk of the town since its launch, with the excitement and intrigue highest after the trailer has come out. Akshaye Khanna, the new addition to the team, has added immense value to the narrative, and the face-off and the intense drama between Ajay Devgn and Akshaye Khanna will be among the major highlights in the movie, reminiscent of their high-voltage clashes earlier in Deewangee (2002) and Aakrosh (2010). The two were also part of the ensemble cast of LOC Kargil (2003) and are coming together after 12 years.

Interestingly, Ajay had co-starred with Akshaye’s father, Vinod Khanna also in the 1995 Hulchul, which marked Anees Bazmee’s directorial debut. And the  forthcoming Drishyam 2 marks the debut of director Abhishek Pathak, whose father, Kumar Mangat Pathak, has not just produced Drishyam 2 but also Aakrosh and the first Drishyam.

Speaking about the character of Akshaye, Abhishek said, “In Drishyam 2, we have Tabu and Ajay Devgn confronting each other and I wanted someone of that level or even beyond that. The entire character was designed keeping this in mind, and we never thought that we would write it and then think of casting the actor. From the first day itself, when we started writing the cop character, we had Akshaye in mind, his image and his personality. That made it very easy for us, as we knew what we would bring to the table. He was always the first option and my first thought for this character and we are very happy he took it on.”

The film also stars Shriya Saran and Ishita Dutta in pivotal roles. Viacom18 Studios presents T-Series and Panorama Studios’ thriller sequel. The original score and music are by Rockstar DSP (Devi Sri Prasad). The film is set to release theatrically on November 18.