Chiyaan Vikram, the Kollywood star, is someone who needs no introduction. He has been part of some of the best Tamil films to date and has contributed a lot to Indian cinema.
As per a report that has been published in Deccan Chronicle, the actor was also offered a role to play the antagonist in SSMB29 and from his side, we hear that he said no to playing a baddie in Mahesh Babu's movie.
The news was confirmed to Deccan Chronicle by someone closely associated with the project in Chennai. It is reported that Vikram and Rajamouli had extensive and amicable discussions about the character, but in the end, the actor declined the role in the end.
“They spoke about a very powerful with grey shades in detail. Vikram is glad that Rajamouli considered him for a role, and he also respects his grand filmmaking vision, but he is not very keen about doing a negative role at this stage in his career,” added the source.
Despite Veera Dheera Sooran 2 not performing as expected, Vikram is believed to be very selective in hero-centric characterization to upkeep his image as the mass hero. “He’s being picky about the roles, and he wants to do lead roles. The meeting with Rajamouli went well and there was no bad blood,” the source added.
After Vikram’s exit, the makers are now said to have roped in Malayalam superstar Prithviraj Sukumaran to play the antagonist. Prithviraj became the talk of the town in the entire country with his role with Prabhas in Salaar and will have a darker shade in its sequel.
Prithviraj has shown his versatility and intensity in his more recent works, and that would complement Rajamouli’s ability to create memorable villains. Discussions are underway, but nothing has been decided on yet,” the source said.
Ketan Mehta left the project over creative differences, Other sources claim that actor R. Madhavan is also being considered for the same role. Nothing has been confirmed either way but fans can expect an official cast announcement in the coming weeks.
Director S.S. Rajamouli, who has redefined antagonists with characters like Bhallaladeva (portrayed by Rana Daggubati in Baahubali), is expected to take the novel approach with the villain in SSMB29 too. Based on that anticipation and the big names reportedly in the running, when the role does get cast, it's bound to be headline news.
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