When director Kookie Gulati boarded Visfot, he was intrigued by not only the story of the thriller, but also the film’s leading actors Fardeen Khan and Riteish Deshmukh. He was excited about presenting the two actors in roles far removed from their image, an anti-casting of sorts that saw Deshmukh play a pilot who crosses paths with Khan’s Dongri boy.

“The typical casting would have been Fardeen playing a pilot and Riteish being from Dongri. But we turned it on its head and said, ‘Let’s take them out of their comfort zone and see what happens.’ I don’t think Riteish has [brought] so much drama and emotions before, nor has Fardeen played a guy from the streets before,” shares the director.

Gulati also had the challenge of directing Khan, who was returning to movies after a 14-year gap. Although the recent Khel Khel Mein marked the actor’s comeback in films, he had shot for the JioCinema offering before. Gulati recalls being impressed by Khan’s hunger in his second inning.

“For three months, he was totally into the character. He worked with a dialect coach. I had worked with him in Fida [2004] where he was a star, but here, he was an actor. He was interested in how a character would play out. His mindset had changed. I’m sure he had jitters, but that nervousness helps one perform.”