Video: Prithviraj Sukumaran Reveals He Almost Said NO To Daayra With Kareena Kapoor Because Of SS Rajamouli's Varanasi
· Free Press Journal

Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran recently opened up about his initial hesitation over taking up Daayra, revealing that his packed schedule and the shooting of Varanasi had made him unsure about committing to the project. The actor spoke about his decision at the trailer launch of Daayra in Mumbai on Monday (August 31), where he was joined by co-star Kareena Kapoor Khan and director Meghna Gulzar.
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Prithviraj revealed that when Meghna first approached him, he had already committed to SS Rajamouli's Varanasi, in which he will be seen as an antagonist. At the same time, he was also shooting for his Malayalam films.
He said, "The meeting call for Daayra came to me at a time when I had just said yes to a very big film in South India with Mr SS Rajamouli and I knew that in the months ahead I would not have time to do anything else other than the films I was doing in Malayalam and then Varanasi that was being shot at that time. But when Meghna Gulzar asked for a meeting, I presume any actor in this country would definitely meet her."
"So I said I'd love to meet her and I was preparing myself to very politely listen to what she has to say and then say 'Sorry, this is not going to happen because I really don't have the time' and we met and she narrated the film. After that, I was thinking, 'Oh damn, now I can't say no to this'. Then I asked who was playing Ajooni. Meghna said she was hoping to get Kareena and I was like 'Okay, now I have to say yes to this'."
The actor also spoke warmly about working with Meghna, describing her as both one of the nicest people he has met and one of the toughest filmmakers he has worked with.
Further praising Meghna, Prithviraj said, "I've had a lot many arguments with her but the thing with Meghna is she never fails to answer a why. As a filmmaker she makes you go back to your space and think about what you're going to do or what you've just done and that's such a craft for a filmmaker to have. I had such a good time on this film and I would like all of you to know that regardless of whatever happens on the 18th of September, I'm going to be very proud of this film because it dwells into a conversation that I think is so relevant."
The film is all set to hit the big screens on September 18.