Vikram recalls crying for two months after losing Mani Ratnam’s Bombay to Arvind Swamy: ‘I was confirmed, but I goofed up’

Vikram, currently celebrating the success of his latest film Thangalaan, recently revisited the painful memory of missing out on the chance to play the lead role in director Mani Ratnam’s romantic drama Bombay. In a conversation with Siddharth Kannan, “Chiyaan” Vikram revealed that he was initially finalised to play the central role in Bombay but made a mistake during the final audition. The role eventually went to Arvind Swamy.

When asked about rumours suggesting he had refused the role in Bombay, Vikram clarified, “I didn’t refuse Bombay, I goofed up the audition because he suddenly asked me to audition and he didn’t get a video camera, he got a still camera and he said act. He told me, ‘Look at that girl she is running and I would freeze.’ He said, ‘Don’t stop continue’ but I was confused, ‘He has got a camera, it’s not a video camera so why do I act?’ I understood at that point that if I move he will get a blur image.”

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The Thangalaan actor also recalled how he cried for two months after losing out on the film. “It was a dream for me to work with Mani sir. I was ready to retire after the film; I didn’t need anything after that. I was confirmed for the film. Morning was Manisha Koirala’s photoshoot and evening was mine but I screwed it up. For two months, every day, I would wake up and cry, ‘Shit I lost it.’ A grown man crying for two months. That film went on become a pan-India and a cult film,” he said.

Despite the setback, Vikram’s dream of working with Mani Ratnam was eventually realised. He starred in the filmmaker’s 2010 film Raavanan and played a pivotal role in Ponniyin Selvan: I and II. Reflecting on his experience working with his dream director, Vikram said, “I got my revenge. I did two films with Mani sir after that.”