Koffee With Karan 8: Ranveer Singh convinced Sanjay Leela Bhansali to cast Deepika Padukone in Ram Leela: “Kareena had to exit…” 8 : Bollywood News

The beloved couch is back with Karan Johar as Hotstar Specials’ Koffee with Karan returns for season 8. The first episode couldn’t get any better as star-couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh come together for the first time ever on the Koffee couch, spilling the beans on their marriage, proposal and more. On Koffee with Karan’s infamous couch, Ranveer Singh shared his experience of meeting his real-life heroine and how he convinced Sanjay Leela Bhansali to cast Deepika in Ram Leela after Kareena Kapoor Khan had exited due to some unforeseen circumstances.

Koffee With Karan 8: Ranveer Singh convinced Sanjay Leela Bhansali to cast Deepika Padukone in Ram Leela: “Kareena had to exit…”

“Ram-Leela was supposed to happen with myself and Kareena Kapoor in the lead. The set was ready. One week before roll, for some reason, Kareena had to exit the film,” Ranveer told Karan on the premiere episode.

He suggested Deepika's name as he had just watched Cocktail. “Then we were sitting and wondering who to cast. And Cocktail had just happened (released). So there was a discussion with Mr Bhansali, all the ADs and myself in the office, about who should we take. And I was batting for team Deepika, because I just saw Cocktail, and she got cast,” he said.

Talking about the script reading session and how he met Deepika, he recalled, “There was a famous or infamous reading for Ram Leela at Mr. Bhansali’s house in Versova. I was supposed to meet him before Deepika’s arrival. So I was sitting on the table and the door was on my left. He has these heavy doors and he lives by the seaside. So, these heavy doors open and the gush of wind comes from the sea. There, Deepika enters wearing this white chikankari, hair blowing due to the sea wind just like some sadgi ki moorat. I was like Oh My God!”