'Ramayana': How newcomer Nitish Sharma landed Shatrughn's role
What's the story
Newcomer Nitish Sharma's journey in the upcoming film Ramayana has been full of unexpected twists and turns. After being replaced in a major film, he auditioned for the role of Lakshman in Nitesh Tiwari's epic. Impressed by his performance, he was later cast as Shatrughn in the movie. In an interview with Mid-Day, Sharma spoke about his experience working with Ranbir Kapoor and addressed the criticism following Ramayana's trailer release.
Audition process
Sharma was replaced by a senior actor in another film
Sharma's journey to Ramayana began after a major setback in 2023. After numerous auditions and rejections, he finally landed a significant role in a big film but was later replaced by a senior actor.
To deal with this disappointment, he started reading Ramcharitmanas, and luckily, shortly after, he received a call from casting director Mukesh Chhabra's office saying that Tiwari was making a film on Ramayana and they wanted to test him for Lakshman.
Actor's praise
'For the actual film, it was clear that...'
Chhabra liked Sharma's audition, and he finally landed Shatrughn's role. When asked about missing out on Lakshman's role, he said, "For the actual film, it was clear that in every character there would be big stars. And in such a big-scale movie, there are many things involved. But I have zero complaints about it."
Ravie Dubey is essaying Lakshman.
Sharma also praised Kapoor, saying the superstar transformed himself to play Lord Rama, adding, "No one could have done it better."