Filmmaker Suparn Varma recently sat with Filmfare for a tête-à-tête about the movie HAQ, casting Emraan Hashmi and Yami Gautam and more. He spoke about Emraan being the first choice to play the titular character Abbas Khan. However, having seen Emraan in romanticised roles until now, fans have been particularly curious to know about the casting. Suparn shared that Emraan was the first choice for this role. In fact, the director manifested the actor working on this project. "Emraan was the first choice where I kind of believe in manifestation.