When Ram Charan agreed to do Zanjeer remake that ‘even Amitabh Bachchan’s own son’ didn’t want to try

With SS Rajamouli’s RRR, Ram Charan has become a global star with fans around the world. The actor, who turns 38 on March 27, made his Bollywood debut with Zanjeer in 2013. The film was a gamble as it introduced Ram to Hindi audiences and showed the actor taking on an iconic role once played by Amitabh Bachchan. The actor was once asked by a Bollywood star why he decided to take on the challenge, when Amitabh’s son Abhishek Bachchan even didn’t want to attempt it. He had shared that he was born to handle pressure. (Also Read | Kiara Advani celebrates Ram Charan’s birthday on RC15 set with crew. See pics)

The remake of Zanjeer in 2013 was directed by Apoorva Lakhia and also starred Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt, Prakash Raj, Atul Kulkarni, and Mahie Gill. The film was also released in Telugu. The original 1973 version was directed by Prakash Mehra and had Jaya Bachchan, Pran, Ajit Khan and Bindu as part of the cast. While the actor was confident of taking on Hindi cinema at the time, he has not appeared in any other Hindi film after that. It is said that Ram has a special cameo in Salman Khan’s Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan later this year.

In an interview with Hyderabad Times in 2013, the actor had spoken about his Bollywood debut with Zanjeer. He said, “A ‘big star’ in Bollywood recently told me, ‘Do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into? Zanjeer is a movie every Indian has in his personal library. His own son doesn’t want to attempt it because it’s too much of a burden. Why do you want to do it?’. I just said, ‘Sir, let me tell you I was born to handle pressure. I’ve had people coming to me and saying I have to fill my dad’s shoes.’ But with Mr Bachchan’s film, the shoes just got bigger!”

Ram was last seen in the Oscar-winning Telugu film RRR (2022) with Jr NTR and Alia Bhatt. The actor had travelled to the US earlier this year to promote the film during awards season and attended the Oscars ceremony with his wife Upasana Konidela. In December 2022, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child this year.

The actor is currently filming for his next, tentatively titled RC 15, with director Shankar. He will be starring opposite Kiara Advani in the action film. Shankar and Ram are working together for the first time in a Telugu film.