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Akshay Oberoi says he got to know that Takht has been put on the backburner through a story in a newspaper as he feels he wasn’t ‘privileged to get that information first-hand’.
Takht was supposed to star Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal and Kareena Kapoor Khan, among others.
In August 2019, Karan Johar announced Takht, a magnum opus period drama, based in the Mughal era that would chronicle the enmity between Aurangzeb and Dara Shukoh for the succession of the throne. The star-studded ensemble comprised Ranveer Singh (Dara Shukoh), Vicky Kaushal (Aurangzeb), Anil Kapoor (Shah Jahan), Kareena Kapoor Khan (Jahanara Begum), Alia Bhatt (Dilras Banu Begum), Janhvi Kapoor (Nadira Banu Begum) and Bhumi Pednekar (Roshanara Begum).
A year later, in 2020, reports started doing the rounds that Akshay Oberoi has been roped in to play Jahanara Begum’s husband in the film. But Akshay refused to comment on the speculations. These reports were later refuted with another report stating that he was not cast in that role. Eventually, the film, which was initially slated to begin production in March 2020 with a Christmas 2021 release date, was shelved due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, speaking exclusively to News18 Showsha, Akshay finally opens up on Takht and reveals that he indeed was offered a part in the film. But it was that of Aurangzeb and Dara Shukoh’s brother. “Karan had cast me in Takht. That would be the first film that I would’ve done with them. Shanoo Sharma had tested me for the part of the third brother after Ranveer and Vicky. Murad Baksh was the name of the character,” he tells us.
Recalling his conversation with Karan, he shares, “I met Karan. He was so fascinating and open. He told me that he didn’t even see my audition but that he had watched my previous works and wanted to collaborate with me. It was very sweet of him. We did the look test. But then Covid happened and the film shut down.” And when that happened, it was ‘soul-crushing’ for Akshay.
“It was so heart breaking. It was a huge film. I still have a picture of me in that costume. I sometimes look at it and tell myself, ‘I look the part!’ When I got news that the film wasn’t happening anymore, it crushed my soul. Covid mein already dhanda bandh tha. I remember sitting in my living room and looking at the newspaper that carried the news that the film is being shelved. That’s when I read about it for the first time because I wasn’t privileged to get that information first-hand,” he says.
But things began looking up when Fighter came his way, a film he believes is a ‘replacement for Takht’. “The industry was shut and there was this sense of uncertainty. But I thought that once things are over, we’ll start the shoot. And when Fighter came my way, my management team at Exceed had told me that mere kundli mein yeh hai ki ek badi film aayegi. I believed them. I accepted it that Takht didn’t happen. And soon after Covid was over, I was offered Fighter. The phrase ‘der aaye durust aaye’ applies a lot to my life,” says Akshay.
Titas Chowdhury is a Principal Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringing break…Read More
Titas Chowdhury is a Principal Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringing break… Read More
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