Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor in running to play Gulshan Kumar in Aamir Khan-backed Mogul?

Two of the brightest talents of today, Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, have been approached to play T-Series head honcho Bhushan Kumar's father, the late Gulshan Kumar, in Mogul. Gulshan Kumar was the founder of the T-Series music label and a movie producer. The movie is written and directed by Subhash Kapoor.

Says a trade source, “Earlier, Akshay Kumar was in talks to play the lead but he opted out apparently over creative differences on the script. Bhushan is keen for Ranveer or Ranbir to play the main lead of his father’s role and has approached both with the script. Buzz is that Bhushan is apparently willing to pay a humongous amount to whichever actor says yes. Mogul is Bhushan’s dream project and very close to his heart. He is keen to start the project as soon as possible, and with a bigger star than Akshay. There were rumours of Aamir Khan and Salman Khan playing the main lead too. Aamir is co-producing Mogul with Bhushan. Salman is very close to Bhushan and Aamir.”

The source adds that with Aamir co-producing the project and Bhushan willing to pay the price his lead actor wants, it’s only a matter of time that Ranveer or Ranbir give a nod. “The movie will have Aamir’s inputs and it’s a Bhushan Kumar film based on his father’s life, so he will spend crores on publicity and marketing to make it a super hit. Now top actors are vying to play this role and with Aamir on board, the movie just became so much bigger. Ranbir has an edge as he’s just delivered a brilliant performance in Sanju but Ranbir is busy completing Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra after which he will begin shooting for Karan Malhotra’s Shamshera. Ranveer is currently shooting for Rohit Shetty’s Simmba, completed the shoot for Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy and slated to do Maneesh Sharma’s next.”

While Ranbir’s biopic Sanju has been well received at the box office, Ranveer has also done historical period dramas based on real-life characters such as Peshwa Bajirao 1 and Alauddin Khilji in Bajirao Mastani and Padmavat respectively, apart from the under-production Gully Boy, which is inspired by the lives of Mumbai street rappers Divine and Naezy.

When we contacted Bhushan Kumar, he however said, “We haven’t approached any actor. Aamir (Khan) will take the call on the actor as he is producing the film with me. We (at T-Series) don’t have any preferences as Aamir sir will decide at the right time.”

The trade source quips, “Who knows? Aamir is known to be a perfectionist and if he feels nobody suits the role, he might just go ahead and cast himself and it could be one of the best choices for Mogul!” 

(Gulshan Kumar- Founder of the T-Series music label)