Director Krishna Vamsi says he originally considered actor Sanjay Dutt for a crucial role in his forthcoming Telugu action-drama "Nakshatram", which throws the spotlight on the lives of a bunch of policemen.

Sanjay was considered for the character played by Sai Dharam Tej in the film.

"Sai's role originally was a middle-aged character. In the script, I had written it as a 20-minute role. I had plans to rope in Sanjay Dutt, and he was supposed to play the DSP. As we started the process of approaching him with the offer, I met Sai in a party and we hit it off," Vamsi told IANS.

In that meeting, he decided to offer the role to Sai.

"I have known him for over a decade. When I met him last year, we spoke for about two hours and I started imagining him in the role. I knew if a youngster played the role, I could show the character even more dynamically. Sai was more than happy to accept the role," he said.

Sai, for his 30-minute role, didn't take remuneration.

"He worked for free. He told me he always wanted to work with me," Vamsi added.

The film also stars Sundeep Kishan, Regina Cassandra and Pragya Jaiswal.