In 2017, Shraddha Kapoor starred in a film that completely jolted public perception of her on-screen image. By then, Shraddha had already built a solid mainstream career. She had delivered romantic dramas,
youthful love stories and musical hits, and was largely seen as a soft, accessible star with mass appeal. That is exactly why her casting in Haseena Parkar came as a shock. The film saw her step into the life of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister, tracing her transformation from a teenage bride to one of Mumbai’s most feared crime figures. The gamble, as Lakhia later revealed, did not go down well initially. In a candid interview with Rediff, the director opened up about the backlash he faced for casting Shraddha in the role. Recalling the decision-making process behind the film, Lakhia said, “I was actually offered a film on Dawood Ibrahim, but I felt the subject was done to death. Then they asked me to meet his sister and her family. So we set up a meeting with Haseena Parkar.” Addressing the casting shock head-on, he added, ” When I cast her, everyone abused me! When the first look came out, everyone said genius!” Lakhia explained that the decision was rooted in the character’s timeline rather than star image. He added, “The reason we cast Shraddha is because Haseena’s journey starts when she was 17 years old, when she got married. (If not Shraddha) I would have had to cast someone for the age of 17-25. Shraddha would easily fit in as a 75-year-old as well. That was predominantly my thought process. Casting her was just a fluke.” Lakhia also revealed that Shraddha was not the first choice. He said, “Sonakshi [Sinha] actually fit the posture of Haseena. When we started shooting with her, we had hired another heroine to play the earlier (younger) version. But then, the dates didn’t work out. We decided that there was no point in waiting because the script was good and we wanted to make the film. That’s when I approached Shraddha.”
Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, the film explored Haseena Parkar’s personal and criminal journey, focusing on how power, fear and circumstance shaped her rise in the city’s underworld. Shraddha played the character across several decades, from her late teens to old age.
