‘Ranveer Singh backed out of Kabir Singh because it was too dark for him’: Sandeep Reddy Vanga says he was warned against casting Shahid Kapoor

Sandeep Reddy Vanga revealed that his decision to cast Shahid Kapoor in Kabir Singh was questioned, because the actor hadn't delivered a Rs 100 crore hit at that point.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: November 30, 2023 07:29 AM IST

Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor worked together in Padmaavat.

Listen to this article

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who is gearing up for the release of his new film Animal, looked back on the difficult process of remaking Arjun Reddy in Hindi as Kabir Singh. He said that he would never do a remake ever again, and revealed that not everybody was in favour of casting Shahid Kapoor in the lead role. The original Arjun Reddy, starring Vijay Deverakonda, emerged as a massive hit, making over Rs 50 crore against a budget of less than Rs 3 crore.

In an interview with iDream Media, the director said that after the film became a blockbuster, he pitched an idea to Mahesh Babu, which he assumed would be his second film. But when the superstar signed another project, Vanga decided to remake the film in Hindi, because he’d been flooded with offers from Bollywood already.

Also read | Love Hostel: Bobby Deol went Animal-mode in Shanker Raman’s slept-on thriller, and nobody noticed

But, he said, remaking a movie that had been so widely watched isn’t an easy task, and it can often be ‘painful’. “I was continuously getting calls from Mumbai to do the remake. First, it was pitched to Ranveer Singh. I wanted to do it with him. But finally, he decided he will not do it, because it was too dark for him at that time,” Vanga said, adding that he assumed that even the remake wouldn’t get off the ground, so he focused on another Telugu idea.

Vanga said that if the remake hadn’t worked, it would’ve been a ‘big shame’ for him as a director, especially after the buzz that Arjun Reddy had generated. “All industry producers, distributors, everybody saw Arjun Reddy,” he said. After Ranveer passed, Shahid was approached. But people weren’t convinced, Vanga said. “Shahid’s track record was a concern; none of his solo films had done Rs 100 crore then, his highest was Rs 65 crore. They used to say Rs 55 crore, Rs 65 crore is the kind of business Telugu movies do. ‘Why are you doing it with this guy? If it was Ranveer, the box office would be higher’. But I was always sure about Shahid, he’s a fantastic actor,” Vanga said.

Kabir Singh emerged as a massive hit. Vanga said that it cost around Rs 36 crore to produce, and ultimately grossed Rs 380 crore worldwide. In the same interview, he said that Animal will make more than Rs 50 crore on opening day, from the Hindi version alone, and that global box office in the first three days could cross Rs 300 crore.

From the homepage