Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy, which released five days ago, has won over critics as well as the aam junta who cannot stop chanting “Apna Time Aayega”. Among the several standout performances, Siddhant Chaturvedi’s portrayal of rapper/mentor to Ranveer Singh’s Murad, MC Sher has garnered huge amounts of praise. Chaturvedi has already amassed a dedicated fan base for his performance. But how he actually landed the role in Akhtar’s film is one that itself belongs in a movie.
In an interview with Film Companion, Akhtar revealed how they were only three weeks away from starting the shoot for Gully Boy when she spotted Chaturvedi dancing his heart out at a party. She was so impressed that she called him over to introduce herself. In Akhtar’s own words, “He (Chaturvedi) calls this his Luck By Chance moment.”
Akhtar said, “I just called him over and said ‘Hi, I’m Zoya and I make movies’ and he was like ‘I know who you are. And I know you didn’t recognize me. I’m an actor. I was in Inside Edge.’ So, I said, ‘I’m sorry,’ I hadn’t seen it yet. He said, ‘I figured, which is why I’ve been dancing so that you notice me.’ So, I was like ‘Well done’.”
She asked Chaturvedi to come in the very next day for an audition, and a day after, the role was his. The rest, as they say, is history.
