One of the most anticipated films of 2016, Half Girlfriend has been in the news for several reasons. Speculation has been rife on who will essay the lead role and while many names were tossed around, finally it’s been revealed that Sushant Singh Rajput has been signed on.
From the Director of ”Aashiqui 2”, Writer of “2 States” and Producer of ”Ek Villain“, Half Girlfriend’ marks the coming together of Ekta Kapoor, Mohit Suri and Chetan Bhagat. Moreover, Mohit Suri and author, Chetan Bhagat, (who is riding high on the success of“2 States”), are all set to play co-producers as well on what is touted to be one of the greatest love stories ever.
Given the massive scale of the film, several top-notch actors have been gravitating to the project. However, after much speculation over the many big names vying for the role, Sushant Singh bagged the film. Sources reveal that Sushant went to Director Mohit Suri’s house in the dead of the night and spoke to him in the Bihari accent much like the character Madhav Jha, in Half Girlfriend.
Not only that, Sushant had read the book and almost perfected and readied himself for the role, much to Mohit’s surprise. The ‘desi twang’, coupled with his physique and overall appearance helped him nail the meeting. Mohit was taken aback, but extremely impressed and decided to cast him.
Adds director Mohit Suri, “When I was reading the book, I realized that Madhav’s character has an unique mix of naivety and ruggedness that is so intriguing and extremely crucial to the story. However the challenge was to put a face to this endearing Madhav Jha, Which I could never do until I met Sushant. I was blown away with his sheer dedication to embody the character. I was shocked at first, but impressed at how hard he had worked on perfecting certain nuances. I knew right then, that I had found my ‘Madhav Jha’.
A source reveals, ‘This is a huge film for Sushant since Mohit Suri is a master of the romantic genre and producer Ekta Kapoor goes all out to mount the film in terms of scale. Chetan’s last adaptation 2states too struck gold at the box office and the trio together, is a dream for any actor’.
Sushant Singh Rajput, who’s worked with names like Raju Hirani, Abhishek Kapoor, Dibaker Banerjee and Maneesh Sharma and Neeraj Pandey is already touted as the industry’s dark horse.
With Sushant being signed on, the leading lady is yet to be finalized
Bollywood actors have often mentioned meeting real-life people to get into the skin of the character. While Rani Mukerji interacted with Mumbai police officers for a cop’s role in Mardaani (2014), Vidya Balan met sleuths to play a detective in Bobby Jasoos (2014).
The director of Aashiqui 2, writer of 2 States and producer of Ek Villain have come together to bring audiences another love story, Half Girlfriend.
“I am delighted to be a part of what I believe is a truly creative collaboration. I am working with extremely passionate and driven professionals on an emotional & soulful story, which is among the best I’ve read in recent times,” added the Zeher director. 
The director of the much-awaited Ek Villain, Mohit Suri was in for a pleasant surprise recently.