Ayan Mukerji recalls getting upset with Ranbir Kapoor for picking Sanju over Brahmastra

Ayan Mukerji is currently working on his upcoming directorial, Brahmāstra, which stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles. The director recently spoke with ETimes about Ranbir's selecting Rajkumar Hirani's Sanju flick over his.

Ayan remarked, "When I started the prep for Brahmāstra, Ranbir was offered Sanju. He was supposed to start prep with me, but he chose to start with Sanju first. I was so angry. I was happy that he was working with Raju Hirani, but what about my project?"

Ayan eventually realised Ranbir's decision to choose Sanju over his film and said, "But in hindsight, I'm glad Ranbir chose to work on Sanju because, a few years later, Sanju was shot, edited, and ready for release and my pre-production hadn't even been completed. Had Ranbir waited for me, it would've been too long a wait," the filmmaker added.

Sanju is a biography of actor Sanjay Dutt that premiered in 2018 and also starred Vicky Kaushal, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Manisha Koirala, Paresh Rawal, and Anushka Sharma. It's been four years since Ranbir has been seen on the big screen.

Also read: Brahmastra trailer: Where is Shah Rukh Khan in Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt's fantasy film? 

After several delays, Brahmāstra will be released in theatres on September 9. In this film, Ranbir will play Shiva, a character with supernatural abilities, while Alia will play his romantic interest, Isha.

This film also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni, and Mouni Roy. This will be Ranbir and Alia's first collaboration. On Wednesday, June 15, the film's trailer was released, and it is generating quite a buzz in the industry.

Also read: Brahmastra: Ayan Mukerji says Amitabh Bachchan’s commitment to the craft is "simply inspiring." 

Ranbir, on the other hand, will appear in films such as Shamshera opposite Vaani Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt. The actor will also appear in Animal, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, with Rashmika Mandanna.