It is known that Nawazuddin Siddiqui replaced Farhan Akhtar as the cop in Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Raees". But it has now been revealed why Farhan, who is co-producing "Raees", decided not to play the role of a cop in the film.
During the trailer launch of "Wazir", Farhan said that the reason behind not acting in "Raees" is because he is playing an ATS officer in his upcoming film.
"Yes, absolutely right. Raees was supposed to happen at a very different time. It was not about not wanting to play a police officer in it, it was about not wanting to do it immediately. So it would've been the next thing I would have shot for (after Wazir)," Farhan said during the trailer launch.
He also said that he was a bit "uncomfortable" playing the similar roles in the two films, but he is happy that Nawazuddin has replaced him.
"I was a bit uncomfortable with that. The two are completely different projects but more or less you're playing the same kind of character. The foundation is the same so I didn't want to do it. But it's fantastic because we have Nawazuddin who is playing that character, he is a fantastic actor," he said.
Directed by Rahul Dholakia, the storyline is set in 1980s, where Shah Rukh plays the role of a Gujarati bootlegger. The film also features Pakistani actress Mahira Khan and Nawazuddin in lead roles along with SRK.
Co-produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan's Excel Entertainment and SRK's Red Chillis Entertainment, "Raees" will clash with Salman Khan's "Sultan" during Eid 2016.
Watch the video of "Wazir" trailer launch below: