For a newcomer, climbing up the ladder in the film industry is like playing a game of chess. Every move has to be calculated thoroughly because there’s going to be consequences. Many new artists end up making the wrong decisions or take up projects they don’t want to because they are scared that if they say ‘No’, there’s going to be bad blood and they won’t get opportunities anymore.
Actor Siddhant Chaturvedi entered the film industry with a bang. His first film ‘Gully Boy’ was a huge hit and his character MC Sher is memorable even today. There is no doubt that he hit it out of the park with his performance.
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However, not many people know that he was offered a small role in ‘Brahmastra’ – that of a superhero in the ashram. But when he was cast for the role, the film was still in conception, there was no proper script, he didn’t have his lines yet, and hence, he wasn’t sure about the prospect because there was not much information.
“One month before Gully Boy, this (Brahmastra) happened. The makers of a very big film that eventually became the biggest film offered me a part. I had got it through a casting director. It was one of the characters, but it didn’t have any script or audition. They said that you do martial arts, it was an action fantasy film. Ek ashram hai, usme one of the superhero’s ka kirdar mila tha mujhe. So they said I should do it and it’s a VFX heavy project and it will take 5 years to make,” Indian Express quoted him saying.
He went on to add:
“So I am meeting the main director, the production house is also big and it’s a three-film deal. It was Brahmastra and the role was of one of the superheroes in the ashram. I told Ayan (Mukerji) that give me a script so that I can understand what it is, I am very excited. The script was not there and it was in some very initial stages. And they said that it is a 3-film lock-in. I was not able to understand what to do and there were long lines of audition for that role.”
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He revealed that once he told the casting director that he wouldn’t be able to do the film, he was ridiculed. Because on paper, it seemed like the perfect opportunity – a cast comprising Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan and a 3-film contract.
“I told the casting director that I won’t be able to do it. He stood up and said, ‘Pagal hai, Dharma ke saath hai, 3 films ka contract hai.’ So I said, ‘Who will watch me, if Amitabh Bachchan is there, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are there together. At least I should have two lines of dialogue to understand what I will be saying in the film.”
Siddhant Chaturvedi’s refusal to accept the offer made the casting director blacklist him. His reputation suffered in the casting circle and people started calling him “arrogant”.
“Mujhe blacklist kar diya gaya casting se. Blacklist kar diya ki ye toh pagal hai ladka. Badnaam ho gaya thamain casting circuit mein ki ye select ho ke na bol deta hai. They would think ‘Hai kaun bhai tu? Arrogant hai, cocky hai’…Kuch ye mad belief lagta hai ye. Thankfully that film took a lot of time to make. By then Gully Boy had come. I think that character (in Brahmastra) they edited out. It wasn’t in the film. In a way, whatever happened, happened for good.”
We are glad that things worked out for him eventually!