After the success of Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar The Revenge, movie-buffs want to know what actor Ranveer Singh is working on next. He was largely in the news for the upcoming Shaktimaan movie, but actor Mukesh Khanna who played the role in the popular 90s series, strongly opposed Ranveer’s casting. When HT City asked if his mind changed about Ranveer after watching Dhurandhar, because he gave the Aditya Dhar film a glowing review, Mukesh explains, “Mujhe manane mein lage hue hain sab, ki Dhurandhar chal gayi, ab toh Ranveer Singh bohot bada actor ban gaya. I don’t want a very big actor for Shaktimaan, I don’t want a star for Shaktimaan. I want an image for Shaktimaan that was not with Ranveer, which is why I took a stand against it. I am not against his performance.”
Further sharing the reason behind his objection, the Shaktimaan star says, “Woh Alauddin Khilji kar sakta hai, Gully Boy kar chuka hai, woh Dhurandhar kar gaya bohot achha, maine taareef bhi ki. But for me, to become Shaktimaan one does not just need to be an actor, but also needs a face. The face should suit Shaktimaan. Mera objection sirf yahi hai ki uski aankhon mein Shaktimaan dikhna chahiye, woh khada ho toh woh scheming nahi dikhna chahiye. I can sign Ranveer for Kilvish (the villain), not for Shaktimaan. Negativity hai face par, positivity nahi hai uske face par.” Talking about the film itself, Mukesh states, “Aa raha hai, aana chahiye. Rukawat ke liye khed hai. Everybody knows what the speed-breaker is. Everyone knows what my objection is.”
Apart from Ranveer’s casting in Shaktimaan, Mukesh has also been vocal about his disapproval of actor Ranbir Kapoor portraying Lord Rama in Nitesh Tiwari’s next film Ramayana: Part 1. When asked about the teaser, Mukesh responds, “Teaser se baat nahi banti. Teaser kabhi kabhi misleading hota hai. Humesha hum best foot forward karte hain. When a boy and girl are dating, they put their best foot forward. Par asliyat shaadi ke baad maalum padhti hai. Poori film bolegi. Adipurush film boli thi. I can’t form my opinion on a teaser.”
Also starring Sai Pallavi as Sita, Rocking Star Yash as Ravana, Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, Ramayana: Part 1 is set to arrive in theatres on Diwali this year. Ramayana: Part 2, on the other hand, will release next year on Diwali 2027.