John Abraham was the first choice of director Anthony D'Souza for the big budget underwater action adventure "Blue". But he had to settle for Zayed Khan instead after John could'nt give the dates. "I'm very fond of John and he was my first choice for the role that Zayed is playing now," D'Souza, who is debuting as a director with "Blue", told IANS.
"John could not do the film because of personal reasons and prior commitments. After John I had Zayed in mind and I am glad that things worked out with him. But I hope to work with John in future," he added.
Zayed plays a flamboyant youngster who lives in Bangkok. He gets into trouble and escapes from there to the Bahamas to meet the other two lead characters played by Sanjay Dutt and Akshay Kumar. The film also stars Lara Dutta, Kartina Kaif and Rahul Dev.
Commenting on Sanjay and Akshay's presence in the film, D'Souza said: "I feel extremely fortunate to have them in the film. I had both the actors in mind while scripting the film. When the producer asked me, I told him and I am glad we have them."
D'Souza says he hadn't signed on the two because of their star value. "More than stars, I think Akshay and Sanjay are great actors. In spite of being a big star, Akshay puts in tremendous hard work and dedication to his work. He often would reach the sets before me. And Sanjay's experience helped me a lot. I have learnt so much from him."
"Blue" is said to be the costliest Bollywood film till date - it is being made at a whopping Rs.1,290 million, but the director wants it to be called a good film than a big-budget film.
According to the director, "Blue" is the first Indian film to have been extensively shot underwater with real sharks.
