Imtiaz Ali's younger brother Arif Ali is making his directorial debut with the Saif Ali Khan-Dinesh Vijan produced Lekar Hum Deewana Dil featuring Ranbir Kapoor's first cousin, Armaan Jain, in the lead, According to Times of India.

Arif wanted somebody fresh out of college and wasn't prepared to cast a senior actor who could "pass off as a college kid". Abhishek Varman, the director of 2 States, recommended Armaan who was an assistant director on the sets of Karan Johar's Student Of The Year. To get this Kapoor lad to the film sets, Arif had to knock on the doors of Krishna Raj, Ranbir Kapoor's bungalow. He knew the star through his brother Imtiaz who'd directed him in Rockstar. And when he told Ranbir he wanted Armaan in his next film, the actor was in shock. "Ranbir was like, 'Are you sure you are talking about Armaan? He's a kid!'" Arif recalls with a laugh.

But once Ranbir was convinced, he dropped a word to his cousin, who was initially apprehensive about taking up the role. "At his age, guys are still equipping themselves with the arsenal required to be an actor. Armaan was quite under-prepared to act in a film which reflected in his first few auditions. He was terrible! Not that he was incapable, he was just under confident," Arif reveals.

Lucknowi kebabs came to the rescue. Weeks before the film was to go on the floors, Imtiaz, Ranbir, Armaan and Arif met up at Illuminati Films' (Saif and Dinesh's production house) Bandra office where they the bonded over a scrumptious spread of the famous grilled meat. "Ranbir had a long conversation with Armaan there and explained to him that the time of fun and games is over. It was one of those 'brotherly conversations' which set you up for life," says Arif.

"He told Armaan that we knew what we are doing. While we were willing to invest faith and money in him, he needs to perform. From the next day, Armaan was a transformed kid - extremely receptive to new ideas and committed to the film." After this, Armaan was stripped off his privileged lifestyle. Arif packed him off to the North with limited cash and a second class ticket. "He was horrified, but took the plunge. And the experience really helped him open up," he says, admitting that he had warned Armaan that if he did not perform, he'd be thrown out. "I told him that I did not care about him being a Kapoor. I had waited five years for my film to happen and I can wait another five.

The gamble paid off and the month long trip in austerity fetched remarkable returns. "I'm waiting to see what RK has to say about Armaan's transformation," says Arif. "I haven't heard from him yet."