Mukesh Khanna claims he intended Ranveer Singh to portray Tamraj Kilvish rather than Shaktimaan: I didn’t want them to make it into a disco drama.

News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 15th December 2024

Mukesh Khanna has frequently spoken about turning down actor Ranveer Singh for the part of his popular character Shaktimaan. In a recent interview, the legendary actor said that director Aditya Chopra’s team approached him about acquiring the rights to Shaktimaan, but he declined. Mukesh said that his remarks about Ranveer waiting three hours to see him were misconstrued. Instead, he stated that the actor spent three hours convincing him to portray Shaktimaan.

Addressing the misunderstanding, Khanna said, “It’s wrong to say I made him wait. He came with love to meet me. It was an arranged meeting organized by Sony, where Ranveer came to convince me that he could play Shaktimaan. This wasn’t the first time he showed interest in the role.”

Talking about YRF’s approach, the actor shared, “Ten years ago, Aditya Chopra’s team contacted me, asking if I could give them the rights to Shaktimaan. Around that time, coincidentally, a photo of Ranveer Singh wearing Shaktimaan’s costume surfaced on social media. I refused to give them the rights but proposed that they collaborate with me instead. I didn’t want them to turn it into a disco drama.”

Mukesh Khanna also expressed his thoughts on Ranveer Singh’s suitability for a different character in the Shaktimaan universe. He revealed, “Ranveer is full of energy, and he spoke to me genuinely for three hours. He even shared how he got his first film and enacted how he would play Shaktimaan. I really wanted to tell him that play Tamraj Kilvish. He wanted to convince me that he can play Shaktimaan. That meeting ended in no result,” he said.

Clearing the air further, Mukesh reiterated, “It was a misunderstanding. I didn’t make him wait. He spoke to me for three hours straight. I am not as big an actor as he is to make him wait for so long. He later returned with his promotional team, and even his PR manager tried to convince me about what works in today’s times.”