When Aditya Chopra decided to make his first-ever spy film in 2012, Ek Tha Tiger, he cast actors Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in the lead roles. In the supporting roles, he chose critically acclaimed actors Ranvir Shorey and Girish Karnad. Upon the film’s release, the actors received immense praise for their performances. This led to the makers approaching them again for a sequel in 2017. While Salman, Katrina and Girish returned, Ranvir was nowhere to be seen.
Now, in a new interview, the actor shared the reason behind his absence in the film. Speaking with Digital Commentary, Ranvir shared, “After Tiger, YRF offered me Tiger 2 as well. But, the issue was that the role was smaller than the prequel. This was despite Yash Chopra and Salim Khan appreciating my work in the first film. When I received the script for the second film, I noticed my role was smaller than what I had done in the previous film, and so was my fees. I was like: ‘Why are you doing this?’ My logic was that if my role is being liked then my fees should increase and even my screen time.’ They said: ‘This is all we can offer.’ After that, I turned it down.”
In 2023, when the makers came with a third installment, they returned to Ranvir. This time with a twist, which angered the actor and yet he took up the offer.
“When the time came to make Tiger 3, actor Girish Karnad passed away. So after him, I was the only one left from Tiger’s original team. This time they approached me again, but with similar issue. I was like: ‘You are asking me to return just to kill my character?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ This angered me. I took up the role in anger: ‘Theek hai mai apne character ko maut dene aajaunga (I will come just to kill my character). If this is what you have reduced my character to, then let him die’,” shared the Khosla Ka Ghosla star.
The actor, however, shared this time the money offered was better than the previous films. “This time they offered me decent money. It was not great, but decent amount. I solely went to kill my character in the film. His death reminded me of the ending of the first film.”
The success of the 2012 film Tiger kick started the beginning of Aditya Chopra’s spy universe. The success of the film didn’t just gave two more installments to the original film, but also helped introduce more stars to the universe with their films War starring Hrithik Roshan and Pathaan starring Shah Rukh Khan. All of them, except War 2, were commercial hits. The production house is now gearing up for the release of their seventh film in the universe Alpha. This spy thriller will introduce actors Alia Bhatt and Sharvari Wagh as the female leads.
