Helmed by Abhishek Varman in his directorial debut, the 2014 film 2 States recently completed its ten years of release on April 18. The romantic drama, based on Chetan Bhagat's 2009 bestselling novel of the same name, starred Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in the leading roles. 2 Sates was produced by Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala.
Before Arjun Kapoor was roped in for the film, 2 States was first offered to Saif Ali Khan, who was the producer Sajid and author Chetan's first choice for the role. After the Omkara actor rejected the film due to unknown reasons, the film was offered to Shah Rukh Khan. Vishal Bhardwaj was associated with 2 States as the director then and since he and Khan had creative differences over the film, the actor declined the role. Even Ranbir Kapoor was also approached, but he too declined the film. Eventually, Karan Johar came on board as the co-producer and suggested Arjun's name.
Sharing how he was first shocked at hearing the Gunday actor's name and later realising his mistake, the producer Sajid Nadiadwala said at the trailer launch of the film in 2014, "Look at the journey the film (2 States) has taken. It started with Saif Ali Khan green-lighting the project. Then Shah Rukh Khan and later Ranbir Kapoor. After that, Karan Johar came to me saying let’s make it with Arjun Kapoor and I fell off my chair. However, when we started making the movie and I saw the final product, I thought Karan was right in his judgment. I am proud of Arjun because I have seen him grow. I know his dad (Boney Kapoor) and mom (Mona Kapoor) very well. I am extremely proud of him for the way he has worked in films until now."
Talking about how he had creative differences with Shah Rukh Khan over the film, Vishal Bhardwaj told Mid-Day in 2023, "We had differences over the setting of it. I wanted to set it up not in a college but in a bank. That’s where we were not agreeing with each other." After King Khan's refusal, Vishal also stepped away from the film and was replaced by Abhishek Varman, who had assisted Karan Johar on the 2010 film My Name Is Khan.
Apart from Arjun and Alia, 2 States also starred Amrita Singh, Ronit Roy, Revathi, and Shiv Kumar Subramaniam in supporting roles. The film was a commercial success as it earned Rs 105 crore net in India and Rs 175 crore gross worldwide, as per the entertainment tracking portal Sacnilk. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composed a memorable soundtrack for the romantic drama with tracks such as Mast Magan, Chaandaniya, Offo, and Locha-E-Ulfat.
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