Filmmaker Anand L Rai's latest project 'Atrangi Re' is about to release in a couple of days and it has garnered quite some hype regarding its unique and diverse lead cast. The film is a romantic drama and it will see Sara Ali Khan's character in a love triangle situation between Dhanush and Akshay Kumar's characters. Although, Akshay's involvement has raised the starpower of film but surprisingly, he wasn't the first or even second choice for this part.

If latest reports are anything to go by, Anand L Rai actually presented the film to two other Bollywood stalwarts before finally settling on Akshay. In a recent statement to a news outlet, Anand said that the character of Sajjad is a highly desirable man and hence he pitched the idea to Salman Khan. When things didn't work out with him, Anand offered the script to Hrithik Roshan, who almost came onboard before backing out at the last moment.

However, judging by the trailer and promos, it seems that Akshay has fitted quite well within the film. Apart from this one, he also has projects like 'Gorkha', 'Raksha Bandhan', 'Prithviraj' and several others in the production.