Why Ranbir Kapoor, not Ranveer Singh, was chosen for Bombay Velvet? Anurag Kashyap reveals

Mumbai: Filmmaker and actor Anurag Kashyap opened up about the casting in his movie Bombay Velvet. He revealed that she chose Ranbir Kapoor instead of  Ranveer Singh due to the scepticism around. At the time, Ranveer was still a newcomer, and he was not yet fully accepted in Bollywood. 

Speaking to Komal Nehta, Anurag claimed he was the only one who wanted Ranveer to play the lead in Bombay Velvet. He stated, "I talked with everyone in the industry at that time, there was no one left. Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra, and everyone told me you are mad... just try and do it. That is the correct way. Do it with a big actor."

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Despite the movie being a big project, it failed at the box office. Anurag stated that it was collective pressure that led him to alter his casting choices. He also revealed that Ranveer wasn't taken seriously by major Bollywood names. 

 "Mere paas chhota ek naya actor tha, uska naam tha Ranveer Singh, uspe kisi ka faith nahi tha. Usko bade directors 'treadmill' bulaate the kyuki usme energy itna jyada he. So Ranveer se Ranbir tak pahunchne me mujhe ek saal lag gaye mentally, emotionally. Toh mujhe laga main galat hoon and yeh baat poori industry ne bola ki jo yeh sab decisions hai sab sahi hai (I had a small and new actor at that time who was Ranveer Singh. But no one had faith in him, and big directors used to call him 'treadmill' because he had so much energy. So the shift from Ranveer to Ranbir took me one year. I thought I was wrong after the whole industry said that these were the correct choices that were made for me)," said the director. 

Meanwhile, Ranveer's career rapidly grew after he was cast in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, Bajirao Mastani, and Padmavaat. The movies established him as a major name in the Bollywood industry. Since then, he has moved from being another newcomer into a star, who can promise directors commercial success.