When James Bond Auditioned For Rang De Basanti! Daniel Craig Met RDB Filmmaker?

Now, here’s the truth. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra of Bollywood and Daniel Craig of Hollywood are about as contrasting in personality and working sphere as silence during a rock music concert. There’s really no parity between the two remarkable personalities of the film world who are about as popular as they are widely-respected. Yet, what if a common film were to be a binding factor between the two towering forces- Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Daniel Craig? And what if that film was none other than Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s very own Rang De Basanti?

But then, one reckons what is the Daniel Craig connection to a movie that shall not be forgotten by the audiences in the times to come. One of the most beloved movies to have hit the canvass of Bollywood in the early 2000s- isn’t it?

Well, fact is if you get to know of this, you’d be well and truly surprised. As a matter of truth and revelation (made by none other than Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra himself) Daniel Craig had auditioned for a role in the film that caught the audiences’ imagination like few other things did at that point in time.

That being told, isn’t the mere thought of James Bond appearing in an Indian film that has no cloak and dagger spy operation a bit outlandish albeit thrilling to note?

What was Daniel Craig going to do in the film anyway, one wonders? Moreover, what part might have been allocated to an actor of his sensibilities and talent, in a movie that wasn’t an action-packed thriller albeit being a memorable adventure of a lifetime?

But first things first! The revelation that Daniel Craig had auditioned for a role in the film was actually made by the famous Hindi film director in his autobiography titled, “The Stranger In The Mirror,” which he happened to co-write with Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta.

The following are some excerpts from the conversation Mr. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra had with a renowned Indian print daily publication:

“I remember vividly that one of the people who auditioned for the part of James McKinley, the young jailor who walks Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev to be hanged, was none other than current James Bond, Daniel Craig.”

Mr. Mehra would further add, “Daniel Craig was my first choice but he requested if we could allow some time as he was also being considered to be the next James Bond. The rest, as they say, is history!”

Now just imagine if there would not have been any sort of issue regarding the dates and that no James Bond film offer would’ve been made, at least, at that point in time to Daniel Craig, wouldn’t we have seen history been made? A sort of film history where two acting legends in Aamir Khan and Daniel Craig would’ve come together to join forces under an Indian film banner!

How brilliant might that sight have been?

Here’s an excerpt from the Hindustan Times on Mr. Craig: Daniel Craig debuted as James Bond in the same year, with Casino Royale. He has played the iconic British spy in four other films — Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre, and the soon-to-be-released No Time to Die. He has set up a new franchise for himself, in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out. He plays the detective Benoit Blanc in the series, the second instalment of which is currently filming.