The Diplomat: Irrfan Khan was supposed to be the first choice? Director Shivam Nair opens up on the initial plans - Exclusive

MUMBAI: Shivam Nair is a seasoned Indian director and screenwriter known for his gripping storytelling in both films and web series. He gained recognition with the 2006 movie Ahista Ahista and continued with acclaimed works like Naam Shabana (2017). Nair has also directed successful web series such as Special OPS and Mukhbir. His work is celebrated for its intensity, strong character development, and contribution to the thriller genre in Indian cinema. The director came back with ‘The Diplomat’ staring John Abraham.

Also read -The Diplomat: John Abraham’s upcoming movie announcement looks promising

The movie has already hit the big screens and garnered a massive amount of appreciation from the audience for firstly being a true story with not so much extra ‘masala’ and keeping things as authentic as possible, secondly, a not-so-much touched subject and unique storyline. Along with John Abraham, the movie also features Sadia Khateeb, Prapti Shukla, Sharib Hashmi, Jagjeet Sandhu and Ashwath Bhatt.

In an exclusive interview with Tellychakkar, Shivam Nair was asked about his decision of selecting John Abraham for the movie. Which is when the director revealed something very interesting about his initial choice.

Shivam Nair revealed that when the movie was in the writing process, he had Irrfan Khan in his mind. He said, “When we were developing the story, that moment it was Irrfan in my mind, Irrfan Khan and I contacted him also but then he was not well and I realized that he is not well so we waited for moment and we went to Saif Ali Khan and we narrated the story to him. He said ‘yes’ but somehow it never happened. Then one of my producers, send the script to John Abraham and he liked the script...”

The director added, “Initially I was very hesitant but when I met him, when I was talking about the story or geopolitical thing, he knows most of the things about this kind of world. Then I realized he is the right choice for the film because immediately we connected to do the film. He’s so well-read person on this topic, this kind of area...everyday he reads this kind of stuff and he understands it. So that’s the main reason i immediately decided to go with him.”

Also read -The Diplomat’ Stays Strong! Collects ₹30.13 Cr in two weeks

Stay tuned to tellychakkar.com for more updates from the world of entertainment.