Hansal Mehta recalls casting Rajkummar Rao, Shares rare ‘Shahid’ poster, Calls it the birth of an actor

Rajkummar Rao gave a memorable performance as lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi in the 2012 release "Shahid". Director Hansal Mehta has now revealed how he convinced his producers to cast Rajkummar in the film with a poster.

Wishing him on his 41st birthday, Hansal shared the poster on his official Instagram handle. The director added that several people believed that the title of the drama was not commercially feasible, and many members from the initial team even dropped out of the project.


"This was a poster we made so that we could convince our producer @sunil_s_bohra that this FTII pass out boy was the man to play Shahid Azmi. The film had this title because according to many a Muslim title wasn't commercially feasible enough. Many people from the initial team dropped out but among the few who steadfastly believed was a young boy called Rajkummar Rao", Hansal wrote.

Lauding Rajkummar for his passion, the filmmaker added: "He gave the part his immense talent, his passion and over 11 months of his life. In him I not only found one of the closest collaborations in my career but also a boy who soon became family. It's his birthday today. This poster is where it all began. An actor was born. A bond was formed. And we were blessed. Happy birthday my dear @rajkummar_rao."

Written by Sameer Gautam Singh, "Shahid" has been jointly produced by Anurag Kashyap and Sunil Bohra in collaboration with Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under the UTV Spotboy banner.

Inspired by the life of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010, the film also stars Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Prabhleen Sandhu, and Baljinder Kaur in crucial roles, along with others.

Released on October 18, 2013, "Shahid" received a lot of critical acclaim. Rajkummar was even titled as the 'Best Actor' for his performance during the 61st National Film Awards, along with Hansal being honored with the 'Best Director' Award.