Karan Johar shared that it was an intentional move to cast Jaya Bachchan as a mean character in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.
Karan Johar’s rom-com Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani opened to a positive response upon its release and continues to hold strong at the box office even in its fourth week of release.
Besides Ranveer Singh-Alia Bhatt’s impressive acts and Dharmendra-Shabana Azmi’s heartwarming chemistry, the film has already caught everyone’s eye for Jaya Bachchan’s portrayal of a strict matriach, Dhanlakshmi who plays the villain in Rocky (Ranveer) and Rani (Alia)’s love story.
Recently, during an interaction with the audience at Indian Express Adda, a fan told Karan Johar that while he loved Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, he had a grudge against the filmmaker for casting Jaya Bachchan in such a nasty character.
In response, KJo told him that it was an intentional move to cast the veteran actress in such a role. The filmmaker explained, “Sir, it was actually to cast against type. She has such a wonderful image on and off the screen. She is a mother figure to me. So, when I wanted to cast against type, I thought it would be a great role for her to go against what she has done. She is like goody… that was her personality on celluloid. So, sometimes it is nice to shake things up.”
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani marked Karan Johar’s comeback as a director after seven years. The family entertainer revolves around a flamboyant Punjabi boy Rocky and an intellectual Bengali girl Rani who navigate love, life, and the dynamics of their disapproving families.
Despite stiff competition from Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2 and Akshay Kumar starrer OMG 2, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is still enjoying a good run in cinema halls in its fourth week of release.