Mukesh Khanna recently made headlines with the exciting news of his plans to revive the popular television series ‘Shaktimaan’, which earned him fame and recognition. As Mukesh embarks on the journey of bringing the iconic character back to the screen, he is considering who could step into his shoes for the role. While there was initial speculation about Ranveer Singh being cast as the new ‘Shaktimaan’, Mukesh shared that he is somewhat hesitant about choosing Ranveer following the controversy surrounding his bold photoshoot.
Mukesh recently opened up, revealing that Ranveer had told him he was misled into participating in the shoot, but later contradicted himself when addressing the matter publicly. In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, the ‘Saugandh’ actor revealed that Ranveer’s controversial nude photoshoot made him reconsider casting him for the role of ‘Shaktimaan’. He explained that initially, Ranveer claimed to have been unaware of the shoot’s details due to his busy schedule and felt deceived. The actor sympathised with him but later felt differently when the ‘Singham Again‘ actor publicly stated he wasn’t ashamed of the shoot.
“He tried to tell me that he didn’t know what was happening because he was shuttling between shoots and that he was duped and betrayed. I felt sympathy for him, but some time later, he went and told the press that he wasn’t ashamed of the shoot,” Khanna stated. The actor expressed that while Ranveer might have been comfortable with it, the public’s reaction was not.
Mukesh Khanna criticises Ranveer Singh over ‘Shaktimaan’ role speculations: ‘If he feels comfortable with nudity…’
Mukesh further expressed confusion over why Ranveer didn’t pursue legal action if he felt tricked into the photoshoot. He explained that Ranveer told him he was contractually restricted from having any control over the images. The ‘Shaktimaan’ actor, however, was unconvinced, as Ranveer had previously claimed to be comfortable with the photos, only to later allege betrayal. Mukesh also mentioned that the ‘Padmaavat’ actor’s wife, Deepika Padukone, had also backed him in this situation.
On 26th July 2022, a Mumbai-based NGO filed a police complaint against Ranveer after explicit photos from his nude shoot were published online. Later, in an interview with Paper magazine, Ranveer responded to his critics, emphasising that he was comfortable with his physical nudity. He stated that being truly “naked” was exposing one’s soul through performances. “I can be naked in front of a thousand people, I don’t give a crap. It’s just that they get uncomfortable,” he said.
Earlier, photographer Ashish Shah told ETimes that the actor was not at all shy or conscious during the photoshoot.
