How Akshaye Khanna became Dhurandhar’s Rehman Dakait: From ‘paagal ho gaya hai’ to ‘bada maza aayega’
Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna has been an integral part of the Hindi film industry for almost 3 decades now. But the love and appreciation that his latest release Dhurandhar brought him is unmatched to anything we have seen in the past, making the Aditya Dhar film an important milestone in the actor’s career. But did you know Akshaye was initially hesitant about becoming Rehman Dakait in the Ranveer Singh-starrer? Casting director Mukesh Chhabra has now revealed how he convinced Akshaye to become a part of Dhurandhar, which ultimately made him one of the biggest internet sensations of 2025.
In a chat with India Today, Mukesh Chhabra revealed director Aditya Dhar’s reaction when he initially suggested Akshaye Khanna’s name for Dhurandhar. Mukesh shared, “He told me I was going crazy. I said, Akshaye paaji will do it. And then we all jumped on it.” The casting director went on to state, “I honestly hadn’t watched Chhaava then. But I called him. Unhone pehle mujhe daanta [He first scolded me]. He said, ‘Paagal ho gaya hai kya [Have you gone crazy]?’ I asked him to at least hear me out once. I asked him to come to the office. He said, ‘Main toh yahan rehta hi nahi hoon. Bol kahan aana hai [I don’t even live here. Tell me where you want to meet me?]’.” Akshaye then drove to Aditya Dhar’s office, without an entourage.
Mukesh recalled, “He came and sat for four hours. He quietly listened. He kept smoking. When we finished, he said, ‘F**k, it’s very good.’ Then he said, ‘Well done, yaar. Bada maza aayega.’ After some hesitation and consideration, Akshaye called Mukesh and said, “Let’s do it, bro.” Another actor who received immense love for his performance was Rakesh Bedi, who portrayed the role of Jameel Jamali, Sara Arjun’s onscreen father and a pivotal character. After Dhurandhar’s release, Rakesh visited the office recently. Mukesh shared, “He said, ‘I’ve been working for 49 years, but I’ve never felt like a star the way I do now.’ He had tears in his eyes.”
Fans are now eagerly waiting to witness Akshaye’s return as Rehman Dakait in the much-awaited sequel Dhurandhar 2, set to release on March 19 this year.
