Priyadarshan Never Expected Akshay Kumar To Take On Villain Role In ‘Haiwaan’

Priyadarshan has revealed that Akshay Kumar was far from his first choice to play the villain in Haiwaan and that he never expected the actor to accept the role.

The filmmaker, who has worked with Akshay across nine films, is returning to the Hindi thriller genre with Haiwaan. The film stars Saif Ali Khan as a blind lift operator, while Akshay plays a psychologically disturbed killer in a major departure from his usual leading-man roles.

Saif Ali Khan Was Always In Mind

Haiwaan is based on Priyadarshan’s 2016 Malayalam film Oppam, which featured Mohanlal in the lead. For the Hindi adaptation, Priyadarshan wanted Saif Ali Khan to take on the central role.

“Saif is someone with whom I have wanted to make this film for a while. His age and look fit the character quite well,” Priyadarshan said.

He recalled that Saif was intrigued by the unusual role when the script was narrated to him.

“When I narrated the film to him, he said, ‘I have never done something like this before’,” the director added.

Why Akshay Wasn’t Approached Initially

Akshay’s casting came about almost by accident. Priyadarshan said he had initially considered other actors for the antagonist but faced repeated rejections.

“I was looking at someone else. I approached many actors, and they refused,” he said.

It was only during the shoot of Bhooth Bangla that Priyadarshan casually brought up the role with Akshay.

“I casually mentioned it to Akshay on the set of Bhooth Bangla, and he said, ‘Why can’t I do this?’ And it happened,” he recalled.

Priyadarshan admitted that he had never thought of approaching Akshay earlier because he assumed the actor would turn the role down as well.

“I never thought he would accept this. Because by then, many actors of big stature had refused it,” he said.

Akshay’s decision to take on the part gives Haiwaan an added edge, particularly as the actor steps into a dark villainous role after years of playing protagonists.

Priyadarshan’s Take On Actors

The filmmaker also explained what he expects from actors while working on his films. According to him, performers need to completely trust the script and director.

“When an actor surrenders to a script and a director, it works most of the time. But if he is trying to become the director and writer, things won’t work,” Priyadarshan said.

With Saif playing a blind protagonist and Akshay portraying a deranged killer, Haiwaan brings the two actors into unfamiliar territory while giving Priyadarshan an opportunity to revisit the thriller genre in Hindi cinema.