Shaktimaan: Mukesh Khanna had said Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar or Ajay Devgn can't be the desi superhero

The first Indian superhero is very dear to the audience, especially the '90s kids as they have grown up watching Gangadhar aka Shaktimaan on Doordarshan. And now, the news by Sony Pictures International recreating the desi superhero has made fans super-duper excited about it. The superhero will be recreated for big screens in the format of a trilogy and not TV. 

The international production house, which is known for creating superhero tent poles that have become memorable blockbusters, has acquired the rights to the story from Mukesh Khanna's Bheeshm International. While making the announcement earlier, the production house has teased that a major superstar will be replacing Mukesh Khanna for the role. Khanna will be the co-producer of the trilogy in association with Sony Pictures. 

Since the news was made about a superstar replacing the veteran actor, fans of the shows have been guessing who could possibly get into the shoes of the desi superhero. Fans have been suggesting names like Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Tiger Shroff, Ajay Devgn all over social media. However, there hasn't been an official confirmation on how will be playing it yet. But we know, for a matter of fact that it wouldn't be these three A-listers of Bollywood. 

Earlier, during the promotion of the 75-minute telefilm, Hamaara Hero Shaktimaan in 2013, Mukesh Khanna had talked about the legacy of the show. While speaking about the superhero, he had rejected the idea of Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan playing the character, even though he thinks they are good actors. He had said that the only actor who he thinks is perfect for the role is himself. 

In the interaction, he had said, "I can't make Akshay Kumar Shaktimaan, I can't let Ajay Devgn play Shaktimaan. They are good actors. I can't even let Shah Rukh Khan play Shaktimaan because they don't have the image that I have.” He further said, "So I have to do this (play Shaktimaan) and I would say that I have that audacity to play Shaktimaan again because there was nobody before Mukesh Khanna.” 

Watch the video below: 

But now, it looks like he has changed his mind about only him playing Shaktimaan. An official announcement about the actor who will replace him is awaited. 

Years later, Bollywood produced a few superheroes like Krrish and Ra.One. When Mukesh Khanna was asked about his opinions about them, he had said that he doesn't think that Ra.One is not a superhero and added, "I am sorry, maybe Shah Rukh might feel bad, but Ra.One is not a superhero.” He said films like Ra.One and Terminator are good special-effects movies but not superheroes. About Krrish, he had said initially he cannot be a superhero as he has only saved his father but he can become one when he starts saving the world, which he does in Krrish 3. 

Many fans are also throwing the names of Hrithik Roshan as the superhero. They are creating videos to show how the film could possibly look like with the Krrish actor playing the role. 

Watch the video here:  

But like other fans, we too hope that Mukesh Khanna gets to be a part of it on screen as well, just to rekindle some of our fond memories.