Kabir Khan auditioned 2000 girls for Munni’s role in Bajrangi Bhaijaan before casting Harshali Malhotra

Years after the release of Salman Khan blockbuster ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, filmmaker Kabir Khan revealed quintessential behind the scenes details of its making. In an exclusive interaction on IMDb, Kabir Khan said, “After all these years, If I were to speak about one aspect of the making of Bajrangi Bhaijaan, I would speak about the hunt for the girl who would portray Munni. After writing the script, I knew our biggest challenge would be finding the correct casting for Munni. If we didn’t get the correct Munni, I don’t think the film would be half what it is today. I spoke to my casting director Mukesh Chhabra and said we need to spread the net far and wide. Let’s even audition girls from outside India because the character doesn’t speak, and the language will not be a problem, but it’s imperative to get the right expressions and look on that girl. We must have ended up auditioning at least 2000, you know, little girls from the age of five to six to seven. And finally, 10 of them were shortlisted from different parts of the country, brought down to Bombay, and we had a month-long workshop with them.”

Also read: 5 rivalries of TV actors in Bigg Boss house that we can’t forget

Kabir further added on the process of finalizing Harshaali Malhotra as Munni, “It was also crucial for us to see the talent, whether the expressions were correct and the look right, and which of the girls had the stamina and attitude to last through a film. We were shooting a big movie; the shooting window was more than six-seven months long in different terrains. Hence perspective also was critical of how the little girl approached the role, and I’m happy with that workshop. We finally zeroed in on Harshaali Malhotra, who was pure magic on screen, and the chemistry with Salman was bang on. And I remember the first time I took her to Salman’s house in Galaxy. Right from there on, you could see the chemistry between them. Ultimately the magic of Bajrangi Bhaijaan is that dynamic between the character of Bajrangi and the little girl Munni.”