Last week, there were reports that Vicky Kaushal will not be cast as the lead in Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) director Aditya Dhar’s ambitious film, The Immortal Ashwatthama. Instead, Ranveer Singh was in talks with the makers to play the lead role. However, as per the latest development, the talks with the actor have failed to materialize, mainly due to his back-to-back flops.
A source told Bollywood Hungama, “The Immortal Ashwatthama is a very expensive film, and post-pandemic, the box office has become very unpredictable. The makers are looking for an actor who can pull audiences in hordes to the cinemas. Ranveer Singh’s much-awaited film ’83 (2021) failed to appeal to audiences, especially the masses. Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022) and Cirkus (2023), meanwhile, were outright flops. Though the producers, Jio Studios, began talks with Ranveer, they soon realized, as the talks progressed, that there was a huge financial risk in taking him on board. The movie is also supposed to be mounted on a large scale and they needed an actor in whom they can safely invest their big monies. Ranveer did not fit the bill on their due diligence and hence, they chose to let him go rather than take a risk.”
There have been reports that South superstars like Jr. NTR and Allu Arjun have been offered The Immortal Ashwatthama. While the source didn’t have clarity on this aspect, an industry insider remarked, “Getting a star from the South is a safer bet. The moment an actor like Jr. NTR or Allu Arjun comes on board, the film automatically becomes a Pan-India project and will be dubbed in multiple languages. It also leads to an increase in box office revenue. With Ranveer, that is not possible as he is not a pan-India actor. Forget South, even Hindi audiences may not turn up in huge numbers, courtesy his back-to-back debacles.”
A few days ago, Bollywood Hungama reported that Yash Raj Films (YRF), which launched Ranveer Singh, has decided to take a break from the actor for the time being. This is because all the six films that the banner made with the actor performed below
