Farah Khan’s 2007 movie Om Shanti Om needs no introduction. The highly melodramatic dialogues, lavish sets and heart-touching music, everything contributed to the movie’s success. This film became special for fans, not only for its screenplay, but also because of the thoughtful casting. Om Shanti Om gave the cinematic industry its very own Shanti Priya as actress Deepika Padukone made her Bollywood debut with the said movie and left everyone impressed with her talent and gorgeous looks. Shah Rukh Khan’s double role as a reincarnated version was also an additional brownie point. At last, the casting of the movie’s dashing villain won over fans’ hearts.

Farah Khan’s Struggle To Find Mukesh Mehra:

Arjun Rampal was selected to play the character of Mukesh Mehra, the antagonist of the movie. However, the star was not the first choice for the role. Despite being one of the most iconic villains, Arjun Rampal bagged the role after Farah Khan faced several rejections from other actors. During an old interview with Times of India, the director revealed that casting for the antagonist role was one of the biggest challenges for her. She said, “Casting for the role of Mukesh Mehra was the most difficult as it was a completely negative role, there was nothing positive about him.”

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Farah Khan’s Idea Of Mukesh Mehra’s Looks:

In another interview with Komal Nahata, the director explained that the villain had to look a certain way in order to meet Deepika’s outstanding beauty. Farah revealed, “He can’t be Prakash Raj. He has to look like a hero.” Reportedly, Farah wanted someone who was equally or even more good-looking than Shah Rukh Khan. The director did not reveal the names of the stars who rejected her movie, but one of those actors actually opened up about being approached for the same role.

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According to a Huffington Post report, actor Vivek Oberoi was asked to grace the screens as Mukesh Mehra. However, the actor didn’t want to play a negative character once again after playing it in the movie Company. At the same time, Vivek was offered Shootout At Lokhandwala, and he chose to do that movie.