Once in a while, an actor gets lucky enough to find a role that feels like it was custom made for them. These are the characters that transform their careers. For Sidharth Malhotra, it was the role of Captain Vikram Batra in Shershaah that moved us like none of his previous gigs did. There was a certain conviction that he brought to the character and it was apparent that no one else could have added Sidharth’s charm to the film. Butttt wait. Did you know that he was about to get replaced from the movie had it not been for producer Shabbir Boxwala?
Earlier in an interview, Shabbir had revealed that Salman Khan wanted to partner with him for the film and cast his brother-in-law, Aayush Sharma (Yes!) in the lead role. “Salman approached me at a stage when I was in talks with Junglee Pictures. He wanted Shershaah to be Aayush’s debut film, and wanted to partner with me on it. It would have been highly unethical to drop him (Sidharth Malhotra) for another actor. When Captain Batra’s family gave me the rights, it was a big moment for me. They showed immense trust in me, and I didn’t want to go wrong at any step,” Shabbir said.
Well, we are glad that the producer knew better than just dropping and casting actors on the whims of other movie stars. Seriously, can you even imagine watching Aayush trying to enact Captain Vikram Batra instead of Sidharth? Those who have watched Loveyatri know the answer. There is no way that Aayush was the right fit for the character and as someone who has been a part of the industry for decades now, we really thought Salman Khan would know better. But nope, that is too much to ask for.
Sadly, it is because of instances like these that the nepotism debate keeps surfacing in the Indian film industry. While Sidharth was lucky in this case, imagine how many talented actors might have been replaced for roles that they would have been perfect for!
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