Mukesh Khanna Reveals Ranveer Singh Tried Hard to Convince Him to Be The New Shaktimaan
The cinematic adaptation of Shaktimaan has been a point of interest for quite some time now. Mukesh Khanna, who played the titular character in the series, gained widespread recognition in the early 2000s for portraying one of the first superheroes in India. However, casting for Shaktimaan’s role has not been finalised yet, and the makers and Khanna are rarely on the same page. It was being reported that Ranveer Singh was keen on playing Shaktimaan on screen, but Khanna made some contrasting claims about his involvement.
Now, in a recent interview, the actor once again opened up about the same. He said that while he convinced the makers not to change Shaktimaan’s values, he couldn’t get it in writing that the lead would be cast with his permission. He also recalled his meeting with Ranveer and revealed that the latter tried to convince Khanna to cast him as Shaktimaan. Although he praised Singh as an actor, he was not convinced that Singh could be cast in that role.
Khanna told Galatta India, “The IPR is still mine. But we have given them rights for seven years to make a film. Maine likhva dia hai ki film mein Shaktimaan ki aatma change nahi hogi. They have written that we won’t change Shaktimaan’s values.”
He continued, “I couldn’t get it in writing that the actor would be cast with my permission. They are like, we will ask you for sure, but the final call will be ours. If Shaktimaan is dancing in a disco and I say that I don’t like it, you would still do what you want. Then what’s the point of asking me? You can’t show Raavan in the role of Raam.”
Speaking about Ranveer, he further added, “Ranveer came to my office, sat with me for three hours. Very nice meeting, very nice actor and human being. He was very interested in the role, and he tried to convince me so much. Ultimately, I always knew that he couldn’t be cast in Shaktimaan’s role.” Meanwhile, earlier this year, Filmfare exclusively reported that Ranveer Singh will be producing an OTT series on the Shaktimaan saga.
Our sources told us, “Ranveer has taken the rights of developing Shaktimaan. He’s on board as a partner, and mostly, the makers are aiming at creating a series. Whether Ranveer will play the title character or not is a question we’ll have to ask in the near future.” Our source couldn’t confirm or deny the involvement of Mukesh Khanna in this new project, though.
Also Read: Ranveer Singh to Produce Shaktimaan Series – Exclusive Deets Revealed
