Siddhant Chaturvedi has established a well-known presence in the industry, with his stand-out performance in ‘Gully Boy’ still resonating with people. With the talent and acting skills he possesses, it’s no surprise that he would have been approached for many films. However, did you know that he was offered a role in ‘Brahmastra’ but turned it down? In a recent conversation with The Lallantop, he shed light on the same.
He said, “The makers of a very big film that eventually became the biggest film offered me a part. I had got it through a casting director. It was one of the characters, but it didn’t have any script or audition. They said that you do martial arts; it was an action fantasy film. Ek ashram hai, usme one of the superheroes ka kirdar mila tha mujhe (There’s an ashram, and you’ve gotten a role to play one of the superheroes). So they said I should do it, and it’s a VFX-heavy project, and it will take 5 years to make.”
The actor mentioned that he should have at least two lines of dialogue to understand what his character would be saying in the movie. So, when he reached out to director Ayan Mukerji for the script so he can understand his role better, there wasn’t anything to give. The film was still in its initial phase but revealed that he had been informed that it’s a 3-film lock-in.
“I told the casting director that I won’t be able to do it. He stood up and said, ‘Pagal hai, Dharma ke saath hai, 3 films ka contract hai’ (Are you insane, it’s a film with Dharma, and it’s a contract of 3 films). So I said, ‘Who will watch me if Amitabh Bachchan is there, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are there together.’”
Chaturvedi further elaborated that because he turned it down, he got blacklisted. “Mujhe blacklist kar diya gaya casting se. Blacklist kar diya ki ye toh pagal hai ladka. Badnaam ho gaya tha main casting circuit mein ki ye select ho ke na bol deta hai. They would think ‘Hai kaun bhai tu? Arrogant hai, cocky hai’ (They blacklisted me, saying I’m insane for turning down the role. I was insulted in the casting circle saying that I rejected the role after getting it. They would think ‘Who is this guy? He’s arrogant, cocky’). Thankfully that film took a lot of time to make… I think that character [in ‘Brahmastra’] they edited out. It wasn’t in the film. In a way, whatever happened, happened for good.”
Siddhant Chaturvedi will next be seen in ‘Yudhra.’
