Sample this: Rani Mukerji picked up a role meant for a male actor in Hichki, ditto with Taapsee Pannu in Badla and Priyanka Chopra in Baywatch. With the change in cinema, replacements in movies are not governed by gender anymore.
Now, Bhumi Pednekar has replaced Arjun Kapoor for the movie Bhakshak (working title), bankrolled by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies and directed by Pulkit, the helmer of Bose: Dead or Alive. Arjun Kapoor was previously approached for the role, but since he was busy with multiple projects, the makers decided to go for an actress.
“These days a lot of films are being written for characters rather than a male or female lead. In such circumstances, it's only logical to cast a good actor in the role irrespective of gender. And if a saleable name is in the film be, the project can still be made. Keeping that in mind, the makers opted for Bhumi and the paperwork is being completed at the moment. Bhumi has liked the script mainly due to the social awareness it aims to create,” says a source.
The film will be based on the sex scandal at a shelter home that rocked Muzaffarpur in 2018. “Bhumi will play the role of the investigating cop. It is one of the most shocking incidents that rocked Bihar at that time. Thirty-four girls were sexually exploited in a shelter home and some of these girls were as young as seven years old,” adds the source.
