Not many are aware that Faruk Kabir, director and actor in 'Allah Ke Banday', didn't have any intentions of picking himself as the leading man in the film. However, the responsibility was thrust upon him when there was rejection from number of other leading men in the industry. This is where Faruk had to take a joint call with the production team and eventually consent to coming in front of the camera as well.

"I had to be pushed into saying yes to the proposal," confesses Faruk, "I needed quite a lot of encouragement and it came from Sharman. We already had a chemistry going and there was a sense of mutual respect between the two of us. I too started believing eventually that I would be able to manage it. After all I had taken interviews of a lot of actors and understood the language of the character. I consented and we started rolling."

To add to the challenge, the film was planned to be shot in live locations which means that production was a logistical nightmare as well. There was no controlled environment that one could enjoy on the sets and the dynamics of shooting the film were altogether different as well.

Faruk recollects, "I was absolutely apprehensive though because directing by itself was a big challenge. To add another responsibility to it was a definite overhead. I had to really sit down and convince myself to take the plunge and turn into an actor."

Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Atul Kulkarni and Anjana Sukhani as the other lead protagonists, 'Allah Ke Banday' releases today all over.