Sandeep Reddy Vanga reveals Ranveer Singh was his first choice for Kabir Singh but turned it down

Kabir Singh was first offered to Ranveer Singh

• Ranveer Singh declined Kabir Singh due to its dark theme.
• Shahid Kapoor was cast instead, despite doubts about his box office record
• Fans now speculate on a possible future collaboration between Ranveer and Vanga

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Just as Ranveer Singh’s intense new look in Dhurandhar has fans talking, an old interview of filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga has unexpectedly resurfaced — and it’s sparked a fresh wave of conversation online.

With Ranveer Singh winning praise for his undercover agent avatar, many are revisiting a moment from the past that reveals how close he once came to starring in Kabir Singh.

In the interview with iDream Media, Sandeep Reddy Vanga reflected on his entry into Hindi cinema with Kabir Singh, the remake of his Telugu film Arjun Reddy (2017). During the discussion, he revealed that Ranveer Singh was his first choice for the lead role.

“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," the director said.

When Ranveer Singh chose to step away from the project, the film eventually went to Shahid Kapoor, who starred opposite Kiara Advani. At the time, Shahid Kapoor’s box office track record was questioned by many, but Sandeep Reddy Vanga remained confident in his casting.

Recalling those doubts, he said, “Shahid’s track record was a concern; none of his solo films had done ₹100 crore then, his highest was ₹65 crore. They used to say ₹55 crore, ₹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."

Though the interview is several years old, its reappearance has triggered lively reactions from fans. One user wrote, “I am sure he (Ranveer) regretted rejecting this role because after the success of Animal he spoke for 40 minutes with Vanga post Animal’s success even writing paens for it."

Another took a more balanced view, commenting, “But that doesn’t mean that he would want to do that kind of movie. One can be socially responsible but also appreciate someone’s art and conviction. Animal storyline was shit . But Vanga conviction as director was something that was appreciated back then . Even technicality , presentation and music was appreciated."

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Others felt the casting worked out perfectly. “Thank god it never happened," one fan wrote, while another added context: “This is an old news from 2019 . At that time Ranveer had already signed 83 , jayeshbhai and didn’t want to do back to back toxic characters post Khilji . Vanga and Ranveer are still cordial with each other." One optimistic fan summed it up by saying, “There is high possibility they will collab now!"

Interestingly, there appears to be no bitterness between the two. Sandeep Reddy Vanga has reportedly praised Ranveer Singh’s work in Dhurandhar, while Ranveer Singh has previously spoken with admiration about Vanga’s Animal (2023), starring Ranbir Kapoor — keeping hopes of a future collaboration very much alive.