Actor Siddhant Chaturvedi who rose to fame with Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy (2019), is currently gearing up for the release of his upcoming film Dhadak 2 with Triptii Dimri. The romantic drama marks Chaturvedi and Dimri's first collaboration together. But Laila Majnu (2018) would have been their first project, had Siddhant cleared the audition.
In an interview with Just Too Filmy, when Siddhant was asked about a film of Triptii's which he admires, he named Laila Majnu, which was the latter's debut film as a lead.
The Gehraiyaan actor said that he was shortlisted for Laila Majnu, when he was 22. "(I came) very close. The thing is the guy had to be older than the girl. I didn't know who was going to be playing the girl. It was my audition round days. I auditioned, but they felt I was a little too young. I grew my beard. My brother shot me in his new camera, and I made a profile that I sent them. Obviously, it didn't work out," he said.
The role went to Avinash Tiwary and he played Qais in the film. "I went to the screening of Laila Majnu, just to know what I was missing out on," added Siddhant as he was all praise for Triptii.
Laila Majnu failed at the box office, but it achieved a cult status over the years. It was re-released in August 2024, and did a great business at the box office.
Coming back to Dhadak 2, it revolves around Neelesh (Siddhant) and Vidhi's (Triptii) love story and how they navigate through societal expectations and class barriers. It is directed by Shazia Iqbal, and produced by Dharma Productions, Zee Studios and Cloud 9 Pictures. It is a spiritual sequel to Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter starrer Dhadak and a remake of the Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal (2018). The film will arrive in theatres on August 1.
