Salman Khan has acknowledged that he wasn’t the first option for Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Legendary screenwriter K V Vijayendra Prasad, the father of renowned director SS Rajamouli, has also concurred. Aamir Khan and many other prominent south Indian celebs had been approached to shoot in the film except Salman Khan.
The major South Indian stars, including Aamir Khan were all casts in Bajrangi Bhaijaan as the film’s initial choices, but they all declined. Salman Khan has acknowledged that he wasn’t the first option for Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Veteran screenwriter K V Vijayendra Prasad, the father of renowned director SS Rajamouli, has also concurred. One of the biggest south Indian performers, Allu Arjun, played the title role in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which also starred Salman, Kareena Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Harshaali. Puneeth Rajkumar, a late Kannada superstar, was a prominent contender for Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s lead role.
SS Rajamouli previously disclosed that his father had approached him to film Bajrangi Bhaijaan but he declined as the producer was in the middle of filming Baahubali: The Beginning climax. The seasoned scribe added that Rajinikanth was also considered a consideration for the Pawan role, which ultimately went to Salman Khan. In one of his earlier interviews, Vijayendra Prasad acknowledged that he first gave his son Rajamouli, the Bajrangi Bhaijaan script after drafting the storyline. The talented director turned down the invitation since he was too busy filming important fight scenes for his Baahubali series at the time. When Prasad eventually reached Kabir, the rest is history, as they say. Salman, Kareena, and Kabir’s careers had some of their greatest economic and critical success with Bajrangi Bhaijaan.