'Akshay Kumar forced to cast Kareena Kapoor in Talaash,' says Pahlaj Nihalini; revealing it was the first time in his career that an actor interfered in casting

Time of India

02-07-2025

Former CBFC (
Central Board Of Film Certification
) Chief and film-maker Pahlaj Nihalini is always known for being quite vocal about his opinions. Nihalini in the recent interview has spoken harshly about the growing costs of entourage of actors.
He revealed the kind of demands which actors have. He also added that earlier heroes never interfered with the casting of heroines but it started with
Akshay Kumar
who referred
Kareena Kapoor
for his film 'Talaash'.
Pahlaj said that this was the first time in his career that he saw such a demand. 'Earlier, producers and directors used to cast and heroes wouldn't interfere in casting. The first actor to interfere in casting with me was Akshay Kumar in Talash in 2002.
He told me that 'we can start the movie tomorrow, and you can give me any amount that you want, but the heroine of this film will be Kareena Kapoor.' It was one of the most costly film of that time, it was made in Rs 22 crore.
This was the first time in my career that an actor had demanded a certain cast,' he said.
He said that now a days, the actor only decides everything about the film - right from the director to actresses or technicians.
'Aajkal toh yeh pura racket hai. Aaj kal sab kuch actor ka hi hai.'
When asked about the reason why Akshay wanted Kareena for the film, he said, 'Sometimes, as the actors grow old they want to star against younger actresses so that their own age looks less.'
In this interview, he also spoke about Govinda and was asked if he was arrogant. Reacting to it, he said, "Govinda was always insecure in everything. His father was a huge hero of Mehboob Khan. He was a producer also, had so many losses. Usne itna dard saaha uske baad, bahut saari cheezein unke haath se nikal gayi, aur struggle karna pada. All those things were built inside him while doing something.'