Why was Shraddha Kapoor selected to play Ashira in Vishal Bharadwaj's 'Haider'?

There are a lot of reasons for an actor to get a particular role for a film. While selecting his leading lady for 'Haider', Vishal Bharadwaj had an additional reason to have the 'Aashiqui 2' and 'Ek Villain' actress, Shraddha Kapoor on board.

It was Shraddha’s eyes that made her the best choice for the role apart from the obvious reasons of her being a good actor, pretty and young.

Vishal Bharadwaj felt that Shraddha has the perfect Kashmiri eyes which he thinks are very expressive and beautiful. The actress’ brown eyes convey a lot of emotions, which Vishal found to be extremely rare among the Bollywood actresses. 

The film is set in Kashmir and Shraddha plays the role of a Kashmiri girl, Ashira. 'Haider' also stars Shahid Kapoor, Tabu and Kay Kay Menon and is slated for a October 2 release.