Did Nagarjuna turn down Akshaye Khanna's Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar? Actor reacts: I wish I was

Actor Akshaye Khanna has been winning widespread praise for his chilling portrayal of gangster Rehman Dakait in Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar. However, rumoures recently suggested that Nagarjuna was the makers’ first choice for the role before it eventually went to Akshaye. Now, Nagarjuna has reacted to the ongoing buzz.

Nagarjuna has come forward to praise Dhurandhar, which featured Ranveer Singh and Akshaye Khanna.

Nagarjuna on Dhurandhar

During a recent interaction with Bollywood Hungama, Nagarjuna addressed the circulating buzz claiming that he had turned down the role of Rehman Dakait in the spy thriller Dhurandhar.

Debunking the rumours around Akshaye replacing him, Nagarjuna said, “Absolutely not. I was not offered the role, though I wish I was… Dhurandhar is a superb film… Really incredible direction by Aditya Dhar. I loved his earlier film Uri also! Superb acting by everybody in the film, and Akshaye Khanna was terrific… Looking forward to the sequel! Wishing them another blockbuster.”

Akshaye earned massive praise for his performance in Dhurandhar. In the film, he played the menacing Pakistani gangster Rehman Dakait. Many viewers said that Akshaye stole the show with his act, with many getting obsessed with his viral dancing entry to Flipperachi’s Fa9la in the film.

At the moment, Nagarjuna is shooting for his 100th film. The actor also spoke about the film during the interview, saying, “We are not rushing anything. There is no hurry to complete the film. We want it to be very special. After Dhurandhar, it is clear that the audiences demand international standards of storytelling.”

About Dhurandhar

Dhurandhar released in theatres on December 5 last year, and has emerged as a massive hit. The film is stars Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun and Rakesh Bedi

Set in Lyari town of Karachi, the Aditya Dhar film revolves around covert intelligence operations against the backdrop of geopolitical and terror events like the Kandahar plane hijack, the 2001 Parliament Attack and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The film has grossed ₹1300 crore worldwide, including a record ₹800+ crore in India, the highest for any Hindi film.

Its sequel is set to release in theatres on March 19. Titled Dhurandhar: The Revenge, the second part of the franchise will clash at the box office with Yash’s pan-India film, Toxic. Directed by Geethu Mohandas, Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown-Ups also stars Rukmini Vasanth, Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria, Huma Qureshi, Akshay Oberoi and Sudev Nair in key roles. Yash and Geetu co-wrote the film.