Chetan Bhagat reveals he ‘wasn’t convinced’ with Alia Bhatt, Arjun Kapoor casting in 2 States: ‘Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra were considered...’

Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer 2 States, which was based on the novel of the same name by Chetan Bhagat, turned out to be a musical blockbuster at the box office, with the lead pair instantly becoming a hit among the audience along with its soulful music.

However, Bhagat recently revealed that not everyone was initially convinced that Arjun and Alia would make a good lead pair, including himself, and it was a pleasant surprise when they saw their performance upon the film’s release.

“For 2 States , bigger stars were being talked about. Shah Rukh Khan was being considered. There was also a time when Vishal Bhardwaj was going to make it. Then names like Saif Ali Khan and Priyanka Chopra were discussed. I think there were several articles and speculations around the casting,” said Bhagat while talking to  Pinkvilla.

“But when they finally said the director was new and the lead actor was Arjun Kapoor, who was just one movie old (Ishaqzaade), along with Alia Bhatt, who had only done Student of the Year, I wasn’t convinced. This wasn’t what was originally discussed. But it turned out to be amazing casting — their freshness and youth made the film what it was,” he added.

The author also shared that he had the same doubts during Kai Po Che!, which was the adaptation of his book, The 3 Mistakes of My Life. “For Kai Po Che! too, we had brand-new actors. We tried everybody, and they all said no. All the stars rejected it, so we had to cast Sushant Singh Rajput, who was a TV actor back then, along with Rajkummar Rao and Amit Sadh, who weren’t known names. I had very little hope from the movie — but it became one of the best adaptations. And now, all three are established stars,” said Chetan.