Advani was hunting for a boy to play 17-year-old Akshay, and Usman was on board on the first meeting itself because of his resemblance with the 43-year-old actor. In fact, the resemblance was so strong that the crew gave him the nickname Akki Junior, said a source.
"We were completely bowled over by the striking resemblance between the two - Akshay and Usman. And after the screen test, without a doubt we found our 17-year-old Akshay for 'Patiala House'. It is not easy to play a younger role of such a superstar but Usman has done a great job, " said Bhushan Kumar of T-Series, the co-producer of the movie.
In fact, Akshay was quite surprised and excited to see Usman, and discovered that they shared a similar scar on their eyebrow. Akshay also said that Usman's body structure is quite similar to his own when he was 17.
"Patiala House" will release Feb 11, 2011.