Manoj Bajpayee was first choice for Rang De Basanti instead of Aamir Khan? Actor reacts with a tweet

Manoj Bajpayee reacted to the buzz on Thursday through a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee has quashed rumours of being the original pick for Rang De Basanti instead of Aamir Khan. He set the record straight with wit and a dash of humour.

Rang De Basanti was released in 2006 and starred Aamir Khan in the lead role.

Manoj clarifies Rang De Basanti role rumours

The conversation around Manoj being the first choice instead of Aamir in the film gained momentum after Kamlesh Pandey, one of the screenwriters on the film, made the claim during a chat with Ravya Sarda for her YouTube show.

Manoj reacted to the buzz on Thursday through a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Reposting the link of one such report, Manoj wrote, “Matlab kuch bhi (whatever) (laughing emoji).”

In another tweet, he mentioned, “And who is the producer who said this? Naam to bata!! SM pe itne khali lota le ke baithe hai (Please share the name. Why are you so idle on social media).”

In the interview, Kamlesh said, “We had been roaming around with the script of the film for 6 years, and no one was ready to make that film. We had signed Manoj for the role that Aamir played finally. We thought we would make a small film; we didn’t have a big budget. The moment Aamir heard the script, he told us that he wanted to do the film, and he even got AR Rahman to come on the project. UTV, who had rejected the film twice in the past, immediately said yes to it".

Released in 2006, Rang De Basanti revolves around a group of carefree friends, who turn rebellious and take on the government with a drastic measure to make a point against corruption in India.

Manoj’s next project

When it comes to his work schedule, Manoj will soon be back with the third season of Family Man. He will be reprising the role of Srikant Tiwari. The makers shared an official update on the new season earlier this week.

On Tuesday, Prime Video dropped the official announcement of season 3 with a new Instagram post. Sharing the poster of season 3, the makers mentioned in the caption: “All eyes on our family men #TheFamilyManOnPrime, New Season, Coming Soon.” The joint post tagged the cast members, including Manoj, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi and directors Raj & DK.

Tamil star Sundeep Kishan, Jugal Hansraj, Shreya Dhanwantary, Darshan Kumar, Dalip Tahil, Seema Biswas, Vipin Kumar Sharma, and Harman Singha were also tagged. Gul Panag, who was seen in season 1, is also set to return to the show. No release date has been announced for The Family Man season 3 so far.