Mr. Bachchan approached Sanjay Dutt for 'Aladin': director

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Director Sujoy Ghosh says that it was Amitabh Bachchan who approached Sanjay Dutt to play Ringmaster in "Aladin".

"After I narrated 'Aladin' to Mr. Bachchan, we discussed who could play the role of 'Ringmaster'. We agreed that it had to be Sanjay Dutt. Next day I was supposed to call him. But, to my surprise, before I could speak to him, Mr. Bachchan had already contacted him," said Sujoy Ghosh, the director of the film, in a statement released here Wednesday.

The 50-year-old immediately agreed to do the film, but on a condition.

"Yes, he didn't want anyone to fiddle around with his look. His only condition was that he wanted the moustache of 'Ringmaster' to be kept intact. Of course, we had no reason not to agree," said Ghosh.

The actor was excited about the project because for the first time he was doing such a role.

"Sanjay actually became quite childlike when he was narrated the concept of 'Aladin'. He hasn't worked in a film belonging to this genre before. The legend of 'Aladin' and 'Genie' is known worldwide and he didn't require much thinking to be a part of the project.

"As a fun loving villain who was capable of showing the mean side of his any moment, the character was tailor-made for him," said a source.

Starring Amitabh Bachchan as Genius - The Genie, Riteish Deshmukh as Aladin and Sanjay Dutt as Ringmaster, the film is releasing Oct 30. It also marks the debut of Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandes who is paired opposite Riteish.

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Aladin