Overview

• In 2002 Akshay Kumar told filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani that Talaash could only begin if Kareena Kapoor was cast as the female lead
• Nihalani said this demand upended traditional casting by giving actors direct control over co-stars and directors
• Kumar’s insistence on a younger co-star was intended to help him appear more youthful on screen
• Talaash’s ₹22 crore budget was among the costliest of its time and signaled rapid inflation in Bollywood production spending
• Nihalani criticized current entourage practices, noting that actors now travel with up to 10 staff members, multiple vanity vans, diet food and drug provisions