The 2014 film adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s 2009 novel, 2 States, brought together Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt for the first time on screen. This pairing marked a significant milestone for the two young actors, who had relatively early careers at the time. Alia Bhatt played Ananya Swaminathan, a Tamil student, who falls for Krish Malhotra, a Punjabi character portrayed by Arjun Kapoor, while pursuing their MBA at IIM Ahmedabad. Their on-screen chemistry and performances were widely appreciated, leaving audiences pleasantly surprised.
However, author Chetan Bhagat recently revealed in a conversation with Pinkvilla that the film’s casting journey was quite different from the final outcome. He shared that at one point, acclaimed director Vishal Bhardwaj was set to direct the film, and names like Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Priyanka Chopra were being considered for the lead roles. “There was a time Vishal Bharadwaj was going to make it. There was a time when Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Priyanka Chopra’s names were talked about,” Bhagat mentioned.
Bhagat also admitted to having initial doubts when the final casting of Arjun Kapoor, who had only one film to his name at that point, and Alia Bhatt, who had just debuted with ‘Student Of The Year’, was proposed. “To be honest, when they said, there is a new director and it’s Arjun Kapoor who had one movie and Alia Bhatt who had one movie, Student Of The Year. I was like ‘okay’, but this is not what was discussed,” he confessed.
Despite his initial reservations, Bhagat expressed his satisfaction with the eventual casting. He felt that the fresh pairing of young actors like Alia and Arjun brought a unique vibrancy to the film. “It was such a nice casting, and it made the movie fresh because they were young. If it were older actors, I don’t know, maybe they would have done a great job. But it was very surprising,” he added.
Looking ahead, Alia Bhatt is gearing up for upcoming projects, including YRF’s spy universe installment ‘Alpha’ and ‘Love & War,’ where she will star alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal. Arjun Kapoor was last seen in ‘Mere Husband Ki Biwi’.