Actor Arif Zakaria made his debut with the film Darmiyaan: In Between in 1997, where he portrayed the role of Immi. Earlier, it was rumoured that Shah Rukh Khan was originally slated to play the role of transgender but was replaced by Arif.
After almost 29 years, appearing on Siddharth Kannan's YouTube channel, Arif addressed the rumours of replacing Shah Rukh, stating, "I don't think this story is completely true. Director Kalpana Lajmi at that point in time met many actors, and that is a fact. Due to some reasons, some actors said yes, some said no, and that role."
He added, "Nowadays, actors come in sarees; earlier, there was not much awareness, so many actors rejected playing that role. I used to read scripts at that time, and in 7-8, I had that by heart. Kalpana was meeting many actors at that time, and every actor said no. Then one day she just called me and said, 'I want to audition you.'"
He felt that destiny had played a big part in his career. Arif also stated that he had no clue about whom he would replace since there were many actors considered in talks about this role.
"There were talks at that time; she met Shah Rukh Khan and other Bollywood and South actors. I had just some information; it was my first film in which I was waiting for my one scene, and it was all my faith that the entire film was made," he concluded.
Darmiyaan: In Between is the story about an actress who finds out that her son is transgender. The film stars Kiron Kher, and Tabu in the lead roles. It is directed by Kalpana Lajmi and written by Saagar Gupta.
