Mumbai, Mar 31 (IANS): Ahmed Khan, the director of the upcoming action film 'Heropanti 2', has lauded actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, saying that he always wanted him to play the character of the antagonist 'Laila' in his film.

As soon as the trailer of the much-awaited 'Heropanti 2' was launched, the audience was surprised to see the new avatar of Nawazuddin Siddiqui as 'Laila'.

While talking about the character, director Ahmed Khan said, "When we started work on 'Heropanti 2', in the scripting stage itself we knew that we need a character, an image, a face, a man with a craft, who can stand against the title."

Revealing how the 'Gangs of Wasseypur' actor was his only choice to play the part, Ahmed said, "So Nawaz bhai was the first and the only option which I thought could portray the character of 'Laila'. Otherwise it was a tough one, it would look ugly, it would look over the top, but you see his eyes, you can see the pain of 'Laila'.

'Heropanti 2' which is the sequel to the 2014 hit 'Heropanti', also stars Tiger Shroff and Tara Sutaria and is slated to release on April 29, on the occasion of Eid where it will clash with Ajay Devgn's 'Runway 34'.