the first actor Irani wanted to cast since the film was conceived, played his father; it is also the first film to feature Anil Kapoor and Bachchan in a scene together. In an interview with journalist Subhash K. Jha of Rediff.com, she confessed it was her dream to work with Bachchan—who immediately agreed after she had offered him the part—adding it was modelled after his personality. Bachchan himself has spoken of his excitement after learning the venture was to be directed by a woman. It was originally intended that Tabu would play the role of Dr. Neha Mathur. But Irani later replaced her with Gracy Singh, whose performance in the sports film Lagaan (2001) attracted Irani to meet her and offer her the role. Irani believed that Singh's role as a doctor made her less glamorous. Preity Zinta plays Sonia, the first time she has played an antagonist. Describing herself as an honest and outspoken person, Zinta liked the role, particularly for its "insane" character, because it allowed her to "vent ... all [of her] frustrations". Calling it the best role of her acting career, she commented: "If Sonia didn't like something, she would show it in a sneaky way. I loved the freedom of saying anything I wanted to and not worrying about what the other person would think." In an interview published by Filmfare in their September 2003 issue, talking about her acting career and on-screen image, Zinta added she took part solely to put an end to her "cute-and-bubbly" image, which she disliked. Before it was offered to her, several actresses were asked to take the part, including Tabu, Rani Mukerji, and Aishwarya Rai. Randhir Kapoor played Zinta's father, the businessman Gulshan. This was his first feature since Mother (1999) was released. Roshan made a cameo appearance. Irani revealed her colleagues called her a "trendsetter" as she was the first female director at the time to direct a big-budget Bollywood film; the total production cost of Armaan was . Ravi Varman worked as the cinematographer, while Yunnus Pathan and Kiran Khanna completed the production design. As the film's main set is a hospital, soft contrast and diffused lighting were required. The choreographers were Farah Khan, Geeta Kapoor, and Saroj Khan, and Kaushal–Moses handled the action direction. The film was shot in Mumbai, Mussoorie, Mauritius, and Sun City in 82 to 92 days. After filming ended in late