Director Akshat Verma says Saif Ali Khan was the first choice for his directorial venture "Kaalakaandi" but at one point the makers did approach Fawad Khan to play the same part. Akshat has revealed that when the film was with UTV, they were in talks with Fawad to play the role, which is now being played by Saif. "Fawad was supposed to be one of the actors we talked to when the project was with UTV. It was around 2013... He was going to play the role Saif plays. But ultimately everything happens for a reason and for the best. No one could have done the role better than Saif," Akshat says in an interview with PTI.