‘I Wasn’t Happy With Luck, Kidnap’: Imran Khan Says He Wasn't Given Script, 'Couldn't Adjust To...' | Exclusive

Once a heartthrob, Imran Khan stepped away from films post the release of Katti Batti in 2015. Often referred to as the poster boy of soft masculinity who redefined urban rom-coms with I Hate Luv Storys, Break Ke Baad and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Imran’s filmography bears a testament to how he also made sharp departures. Immediately after Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na came Kidnap, a film that saw him playing a rough, rugged and taciturn captor.

A year later, he appeared in Luck, where he again played a character far removed from his usual green-flag romantic heroes. Both these films, unfortunately, bombed at the box office. Speaking exclusively to News18, Imran says, “I wasn’t really happy with them.” According to him, doing these films was a result of optics.

Kidnap gave him the chance to work with Sanjay Gadhvi, who had become a sought-after director after the successes of Dhoom and Dhoom 2.

“Kidnap was a film that came to me when we were nearing the end of the shoot of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. When I got called to do a screen test for it, it was a project in development. They had attached Sanjay Dutt to the film. He was the marquee star. For the parts that Minissha (Lamba) and I were playing, they had a number of candidates lined up, including young male actors about my age. I tested with Minissha and a couple of other actresses also,” he recalls.

“The director, who’s no longer with us, was a very big deal. He was fresh off Dhoom 2. He was a star director. Sanjay Dutt was a huge star. Our parts were relevant within the story but we weren’t high up on the pyramid,” Imran adds. So, what made it a bittersweet experience? “I was actually never even given a script. I was just told the plot and was given some scenes for the screen test. The night before, we would get the next day’s scene – four to seven pages – with the dialogues,” he shares.

Apparently, the final product was quite different from what he was told. “At the most, we had scenes for three-four days in advance. I never knew what Sanjay Dutt’s portions were like because there’s a whole part of the film where I’m not there. I had entered into it with a slightly different idea of what the film would be. Thematically, it was interesting. It was an examination of legality versus morality. The tonality with which the film was treated was different from how I was envisioning it,” he says.

The Delhi Belly and Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu actor continues, “The style of performance or acting was heavily shaped by the director’s vision. I did my best to adjust to that style. But ultimately, I personally didn’t feel in sync with the way the film turned out. It didn’t dive deep into those themes I was interested in exploring. The same thing happened with Luck, which was again an interesting idea to start with.”