Alia Bhatt and Sharvari are all set to star in Alpha, a YRF Spy Universe movie. The latter is coming off fresh from the groundbreaking success of Aditya Sarpotdar’s horror comedy Munjya. However, an Indian Express report claims that not Sharvari, but her Alpha co-star Alia Bhatt was the first choice for that part. (Also Read – Munjya box office collection day 17: Sharvari Wagh and Mona Singh film grosses over ₹100 crore in India)
What happened
When Munjya writer Yogesh Chandekar wrote the film, he conceived it as a female-centric movie. Which is why Alia and even Shraddha Kapoor were considered for Sharvari’s part, although the latter plays Stree in the Maddock horror comedy universe. “(Yogesh) had seen this film as a female protagonist film where the conflict was that she was in love with her best friend who was a teenager. It was that angle that was being brought in the narrative,” Aditya said in the report.
However, things changed when he came on board as the director. “I did not identify with the social referencing in the film as I don’t understand it and it wouldn’t be right for me to comment on it either. I saw the film about these two guys who are in a position in life, in the same space where they were in love with an older girl. The hero respected and looked at her in a very sensitive manner. He believed in consent, rather than this guy who was obsessed and crazy about this girl he was in love with and went to the extent of getting her killed,” he added.
Since Aditya didn’t see Munjya as a “female-centric” movie, but that of two men, he convinced Yogesh and producer Dinesh Vijan. Eventually, Sharvari was cast for the part.
Abhay Verma’s casting
In the same interview, Aditya explained that they could’ve approached Ayushmann Khurrana or Rajkummar Rao (who’s already a part of the Maddock horror comedy universe as Vicky from Stree), but they chose to go for a fresh face. They conducted a lot of auditions, including of “The Archies boys” – presumably referring to Agastya Nanda, Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, and/or Yuvraj Menda. Munjya has earned more than ₹100 crore in India.
