Nikkhil Advani never wanted to cast me for Baazaar: Rohan Mehra

By Rohit Bhatnagar

on October 23, 2018

Being a star kid, no one knew that Rohan Mehra existed. Son of late actor Vinod Mehra, Rohan grew up in Kenya with his mother Kiran Mehra. The debutante is now all set to mark his acting debut with Nikkhil Advani’s Baazaar where he is playing the parallel lead to Saif Ali Khan. He will also be seen romancing Radhika Apte in the film.

“Before the trailer of Baazaar came, people didn’t know me to even set expectations from me. More than inherent pressure, I feel blessed and very lucky that I got this opportunity to take my father’s legacy forward. He (Late Vindo Mehra) is not with us anymore and if I can give people a reminder that his son can do well as an actor, it would be great,” Rohan said.

Late Vinod Mehra

“I knew my father was an actor but I was very far away for Bollywood. I grew up in Kenya. Living in a place like that, you can’t even dream of doing something in arts. Everyone around me wanted to be an engineer or a doctor. I was a normal guy living in East Africa. I don’t have any friends from the industry. Apart from Nikkhil sir, no one really guided or mentored me. I used to watch Bollywood films back there. I landed in Mumbai 6 years ago, first 3 years I was training and assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Bajirao Mastani followed by which I took up a couple of acting workshops. My purpose to come here is to be a part of Bollywood,” he added.

Rohan Mehra

Talking about how he bagged Baazaar, Rohan feels that it is very unlikely to have a launch for any star kid in the industry. “Unlike any other star kid, I had a very unusual and unconventional launch. I picked this launch over many other launches which could have a typical heroic launch with a new girl. It is a lovely film to start with. I feel the plot of the film is really good. I wouldn’t have asked for a better debut. I uploaded a photo on Instagram couple of years ago, Nikkhil sir (Advani) had seen that photo. The casting department called me to test for this role. It took a lot of time for that project to happen but unfortunately, it never happened but I made an impression on that. I had a rapport with Nikkhil sir and I heard that he is making Baazaar requested him if I can audition for it. He told me that this film is not for a newcomer and want to cast an established actor. I still gave an audition and he even liked it but then every morning I used to read in papers about actors considered for the role. I made up mind that this film is gone from my hands. In the meantime, I was also giving auditions for other roles but eventually, they finally cast me," shared the newbie.

Baazaar is helmed by Gauravv K Chawla and will hit the screens on October 26, 2018.