'Haseena Parkar' trivia: Apoorva Lakhia says he was abused for casting Shraddha Kapoor

Shraddha Kapoor was mostly known for sweet love stories, musical hits and soft romantic roles during her initial stage of her career. People saw her as a very easy and gentle star. So in 2017, when she played Haseena Parkar, the sister of Dawood Ibrahim, it felt like a big jump. The film showed her life from a young bride to a strong crime figure in Mumbai. The director Apoorva Lakhia has now shared that choosing Shraddha Kapoor was not accepted happily in the beginning.

Director says people abused him for picking Shraddha

Apoorva Lakhia said in an interview with Rediff, “When I cast her, everyone abused me! When the first look came out, everyone said genius!" He explained that people were shocked that he chose her for such a dark and powerful role. At first many people thought she did not look like the character. But once the first look came out the same people changed their words and praised the idea.

Director explains how the subject came to him

Lakhia shared how the whole idea started. He said, “I was actually offered a film on Dawood Ibrahim, but I felt the subject was done to death. Then they asked me to meet his sister and her family. So we set up a meeting with Haseena Parkar." This meeting gave him a fresh angle. He felt her story had many layers that people had not seen. That is how the film slowly began.

He chose Shraddha for age reasons, not star image

Lakhia explained that his casting choice was linked to the timeline of the character. He said, “The reason we cast Shraddha is because Haseena’s journey starts when she was 17 years old, when she got married. (If not Shraddha) I would have had to cast someone for the age of 17-25. Shraddha would easily fit in as a 75-year-old as well. That was predominantly my thought process. Casting her was just a fluke." The director felt she could play all ages in the story without needing two different actresses.

Sonakshi Sinha was the first choice for the role

Lakhia also shared that Shraddha was not the first name in his mind. He said, “Sonakshi [Sinha] actually fit the posture of Haseena. When we started shooting with her, we had hired another heroine to play the earlier (younger) version. But then, the dates didn’t work out. We decided that there was no point in waiting because the script was good and we wanted to make the film. That’s when I approached Shraddha." So the change happened mainly because dates did not match.

Shraddha found the role emotionally heavy

Shraddha Kapoor also spoke about the role back then. She said it was a very hard role for her. In a 2017 chat with IANS, she said it was “emotionally challenging." At the trailer launch she said, "It's difficult for me to express my experience in words for Haseena Parkar. This has been a very exciting and challenging role for me. To play a role of such a strong person for this true story, it has been a very emotionally challenging experience."

On the work front, Shraddha's previous film was 'Stree 2'.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”