- Mukesh Khanna said Ranveer Singh doesn't have the right face to play Shaktimaan
- Khanna praised Ranveer's acting but denied approving him as Shaktimaan
- Khanna also criticised Akshay Kumar's look in the film Prithviraj Chauhan
Ranveer Singh is at an all-time high, both in his professional and personal life. If Dhurandhar 2 is on its way to becoming India's top-grossing film of all time, the actor is set to welcome his second child with Bollywood star and wife Deepika Padukone.
But there is one wish of the Dhurandhar 2 star that remains unfulfilled. His dream of becoming Shaktimaan, the beloved superhero originally played by Mukesh Khanna in the eponymous serial which aired on Doordarshan between 1997 and 2005.
In a recent interview, Mukesh Khanna spoke about who can play Shaktimaan and why Ranveer Singh was unsuitable for the role.
Without taking Ranveer Singh's name in the interview with Zoom, Mukesh Khanna said, "He's a terrific actor, terrific guy, terrific energy man, he can do Dhurandhar, Gully Boy, and Khilji (in Padmaavat). But you need not just the actor, but also the face."
"To play Shaktimaan, uske chehre par shaleenta dikhni chahiye... Masti nahin, scheming face nahin hona chahiye jo sahab inka hai... inka face aisa hai, 'Chal dance karte hain aaja...' Shaktimaan ye nahin bolega. (To play Shaktimaan, the actor should have a certain decency on his face. No mischief, he shouldn't have a scheming face, something that he has... His face is like 'let's dance'. Shaktimaan won't say anything like this) That is the problem," he added.
Last year, Mukesh Khanna said Ranveer was "desperate" to play Shaktimaan, but he never gave the actor his seal of approval to play the Indian superhero.
"I've said many good things about him. But in the end, I had to clarify: I never said he is Shaktimaan. I praised his performance, his energy-he spent three hours with me and was very passionate about the role. But I want to see Shaktimaan as Shaktimaan. I've lived with that character for 30 years. So today, I can't tell you whether Shaktimaan is coming or if it even should come," he had said.
In his recent interview, Mukesh Khanna also took on Akshay Kumar for doing injustice to Prithviraj Chauhan in the 2022 period drama of the same name.
"Prithviraj Chauhan should look like Prithviraj Chauhan when he stands. Akshay Kumar didn't look like it. It's his mistake. Just putting a wig... No, not like this... It took me 1.5 hours to get dressed like Bhishma (during the Mahabharat days)..." he added.
Mukesh Khanna started making headlines after comic Samay Raina in his recently released stand-up special Still Alive called out the senior actor for going after him and fellow comedians during the India's Got Latent controversy. In his response, the Shaktimaan star-producer slammed the comic, saying "Kutte ki dum tedhi rehti hai".
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