Roping in Ayushmann Khurrana to play the role of a blind pianist in AndhaDhun may have seemed as unusual to director Sriram Raghavan as is did to cinephiles when news of this casting hit headlines.

Raghavan tells mid-day that Khurrana was "quite opposite" to the image he held of his leading man. "I was thinking of various names and faces, but his name never came to my mind until he said he wanted to audition for the part. I asked him if he could play the piano, to which he said that while he knew [how to play] the guitar, he would learn the piano for the film. That enthusiasm, coupled with the fact that he is a musician, and so, in sync with the character, was an advantage."