Actor Vikram was initially considered for the lead role of Shekhar Narayanan Pillai in Mani Ratnam’s 1995 film Bombay. The role eventually went to Arvind Swami, with Manisha Koirala playing Shaila Banu in the film. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Vikram revealed how this came to be.  

‘I goofed up the audition’

When Vikram was asked if it was true that he turned down Bombay, he clarified that he didn’t. He was replaced because he didn’t audition well. He said, “I didn’t refuse Bombay, I goofed up the audition because he (Mani Ratnam) suddenly asked me to audition. He didn’t get a video camera, he got a still camera and said, act. He told me, look at that girl, she is running, and I would freeze. He said, don’t freeze, continue. I was confused because I understood that if I moved he would get a blurry image.”

After that, Vikram said he cried for two months because he lost out on the film. “It was a dream for me to work with Shankar sir and Mani sir. I was ready to retire after this film; I didn’t need anything after that. I was even confirmed for it. The morning was her (Manisha Koirala) photoshoot and, the evening was mine. But I screwed it up. For two months, every day, I would wake up and cry, sh*t I lost it. A grown man crying for two months. That film went on to be a pan-India cult hit and Uyire is my favourite song. But I got my revenge by getting two films with him for that. (Ponniyin Selvan: I and II),” joked the actor.

Upcoming work

Vikram was last seen in Pa Ranjith’s Thangalaan, which was released in theatres in August. He will soon star in SU Arun Kumar’s Veera Dheera Sooran: Part 2. His film with Gautham Vasudev Menon, Dhruva Natchathiram: Chapter One – Yuddha Kaandam, has been awaiting release for a long time now.

Read Also: Aadar Jain ‘likes’ comment linking him with ex Tara Sutaria after engagement with Alekha Advani. Reddit calls it ‘crazy’