which was not "the decadent, sozzled nawab cavorting with courtesans; not “Khan chacha", the benevolent other, or wearing a Faiz topi". Casting Shanoo Sharma was roped in as the casting director. Kher plays the role of an Afghan for the first time. She worked on her dialect and at times, arranged for her own clothes. She was clear about how she wanted to look and play the role. Before Oberoi was finalized, Akshaye Khanna and Irrfan Khan were considered. In an interview with The Telegraph, Aki Narula confirmed designing the costumes for the characters. Tara Sharma was approached for a role but rejected due to personal reasons. In an interview with Subhash K Jha, Oberoi was quoted saying: "When I read the script, my first question to Karan was, 'Why me?' He laughed and said it was because I was talented and I could pull it off. And I love working with Kareena. We share a great rapport after Yuva (2004) and Omkara (2006)." The casting was finalized by Karan Johar. Costumes Kareena Kapoor Aki Narula discussed with D'Silva on the screenplay and locales to design the costumes. As he knew filming schedules in Delhi around October (winter season), he researched the different styles by going to the colleges, canteens, and the local markets. For Kapoor, he designed full sleeve t-shirts with V-necks and dark-colored ankle-length churidars with Jaipuri work, mojri and scarves. Her costumes featured rust, burgundy, olive green, blue and purple colors, as observed during the Delhi University scenes. Accessories worn were silver oxidized jewels. In the track "Shukran Allah", Kapoor's salwar was of 60 metres of fabric. As the plot progresses to the U.S., Narula kept the leads' outfits with the ideology that "when traveling abroad, you'd carry some clothes with you". He avoided designing or collaborating with U.S. brands to keep the transitions real. Additionally, Narula gave her Zara trench coats, jeans, and track pants, while sporting her sacred pendant. Towards the terror plot, she dons more of grey, blue, and blacks costumes. Saif Ali Khan Narula kept Khan's costumes simple with jeans and shirts in blue, grey, and green with V-neck sweaters apart from pathani kurtas with jeans. After moving to the U.S. too, his outfits introduced were long jackets in blue and grey. During the terror scenes, he was made to wear darker colors in leather. Johar, D'Silva, and Narula decided that a stubble