Sarwar has Amitji's depth and Dharamji's warmth, says Ekta

There was speculation about Sarwar Ahuja, find of Zee TV’s Cinestar Ki Khoj being replaced in Ekta Kapoor’s Keshav Pandit. Apparently the production house first approached their blue-eyed boy Shabbir Ahluwalia however it was Ahuja who finally got the role in the end. Though Ahuja shot for initial few episodes, the shooting for the show halted for few days and then the unit re-shot those episodes. Ahuja clears the air about it and says, “Casting any actor is completely the producer’s decision. I do not get into any kind of gossip. We shot few episodes in Benaras and it is true we re-shot those episodes because Ekta was not happy the way they had come out. We did few changes in the presentation and in the script and shot it again. She wanted it to have a certain standard.” When asked Ekta about Ahuja, she defends her choice and says, “His talent has not been explored appropriately in any of his shows therefore I will still call him a fresh face. The show has the look of the ’70s like Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) in Deewar and I wanted a guy with depth in his eyes, just the way Amitji had and the warmth and a good physique reminding you of Dharamji (Dharmendra). I think Sarwar has these qualities in him and is the best choice for this character.” To this Ahuja smiles and says, “I guess I danced like Dharamji at her party probably that is the reason she said this. But on a serious note during the auditions they generally give us a brief about a character and if an actor manages to match at least 50% of what has been briefed to him then he or she gets selected for that role. So here too I think they thought I could match this character and they chose me for it. After taking it up I had to rehearse my lines, work on my Hindi diction. I started reading the original book on which Keshav Pandit is based and am trying to understand various laws.”