Ten things you should know about Bullett Raja

1. Saif Ali Khan was the first choice for the title role. When he heard the script he couldn’t believe how commercial the plot and characters were, considering the director was someone as art-to-please as Tigmanshu. 2. In the film Saif’s character is known as ‘Bullett Raja’ because he rides the Bullett motorcycle through the dusty lanes of the small North Indian town where the film is set. 3. Saif’s spoken language had to be rural North Indian without over-doing the colloquial twang. His dialogue coach was Tigmanshu. 4. Jimmy Sheirgil has been cast as Saif’s best-friend and right-hand man. Tigmanshu has paid a tribute to Sholay’s buddy-buddy-baatein between Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan. 5. This is Tigmanshu’s most commercial film to date. It’s got all the masala of a Prabhudheva film except the trademark Prabhudheva action scenes where the hero wallops 12 goons at one go. The action in Bullett Raja is in the more realistic space. 6. In one sequence Saif, Sonakshi and Jimmy gatecrash into a shooting for a film starring ‘Emraan Hashmi’ to play Emraan Tigmanshu got a dead-on look alike named Sachin who can easily double up for the real Emraan on a busy day. 7. Vidyut Jamwal stepped into a role earmarked for one of Tigamanshu’s two favourite actors Irrfan Khan (the other favourite is Jimmy Shergeil). Vidyut has not only performed his own stunts in Bullett Raja he has been credited in the titles for the stunts. 8. Sonakshi Sinha plays a struggling actress. She did the same role in Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobaara. This struggler is even willing to work in Bhojpuri films. 9. The theme of youth power being exploited by politicians was first tapped by Tigmanshu in his directorial debut. It was also the theme of Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai which Tigmanshu wrote for director Goldie Behl. 10. Bullett Raja is Tigmanshu’s fifth directorial venture with Jimmy Sheirgil in the cast. Tigmanshu considers Jimmy one of the film industry’s most under-utilized actors.