Akshaye Khanna Reveals Why He Denied A Role In Anil Kapoor’s 24

He says he chose to feature in Dishoom, which stars John Abraham, Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez, as he really liked the script and as it was an interesting concept.

“The role really excited me and we had a great cast. Since I had taken such a long break, the first three to four films… I wanted to do substantial roles but smaller parts just to get back into the rhythm,” Akshaye told IANS here.

Directed by Rohit Dhawan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Eros International Media Ltd, Dishoom released on Friday.

Akshaye, son of veteran actor Vinod Khanna, said he was also approached for a role in Season 2 of “24”.

“Anil Kapoor wanted me to do a small part, but that part didn’t excite me. He is a good friend and I am a very good friend of his. So he did ask me, but I just didn’t feel it was right for me,” the Dil Chahta Hai actor said.

However, he is impressed the way Anil has managed to make 24 despite the budget constraints in India.

“Initially, he (Anil) told me he has got the rights of ’24’, but I was a little skeptical, because if you see the American show… It’s so big and their production value is so huge.”

“I know our TV budgets in India cannot support and afford that kind of production value. Besides, the writing is so good there. So, I wondered if we can really adapt it without compromising on the quality.”

“But when I saw the first season of ’24’, I was really impressed because I know the kind of budgets they are working on. I thought that as a production house and team, they have done a damn good job. The writing is not as good as in the west, but it’s not bad at all,” he added.