Rahul Bose much appreciated cameo in Santosh Sivan's Tahaan took the audience by surprise.

"Very few knew about Rahul's presence in Tahaan till the promos hit the air. People then thought Rahul had a lengthy role in the film. But it was a cameo and that took his fans by surprise. Rahul's brief appearance left them impressed nevertheless," said a close friend of Rahul.

Interestingly Rahul's earlier venture 'Before The Rains' was responsible for the actor saying an yes to Tahaan.

"During the shooting of 'Before The Rains', Rahul and Santosh became familiar with each other. It was almost like a mutual admiration society as Santosh holds Rahul in high regard both as an actor and as a human being. Apparently Santosh even jokes and insists that Rahul will be part of his every film in the future. Vice versa with Rahul."

Earlier Rahul had only heard about Santosh Sivan's histrionics as a director and cinematographer. He witnessed it first hand while working on Before The Rains. Santosh's dexterity and craft created a lasting impression on Rahul's mind. So when Santosh approached him for Tahaan, Rahul instantly agreed to do it even though it was just a cameo," said the friend.

But the cameo has left the critics and the masses impressed. "This is for the first time that Rahul has done a cameo in a film and the mass positive response has surprised the actor. He never thought that a cameo make such noteworthy impact."