When one considers the elaborate stunts that Tiger Shroff can pull off, they would assume that the makers of his next, Heropanti 2, would rope in an antagonist with comparable physical prowess to tackle the actor on screen. Ahmed Khan instead picked Nawazuddin Siddiqui, an actor, who, he says, can “hold the screen with his facial expressions alone”.

Khan tells mid-day, “When we started scripting the film, we knew we needed a man with [command over his] craft. We began to wonder who would portray this part on the celluloid and deliver exactly what we had in mind. In the film Kick, when I saw Mr Siddiqui perform against Salman Khan, a man who could fight anybody in the world, I realised that this man can hold the screen with his facial expressions alone. So Nawaz bhai was the first and the only option for the role of Laila. When you see his eyes, you can see the pain of the character.”

Khan credits Siddiqui for his ability to showcase the character’s turmoil and malices at once. “When he laughs, he laughs like a hyena. He is so intelligent that he can rule the world, and almost does it. This character is confused, but he expresses it. I requested him to hear the script, and he loved it at the first go.”