Srihari will look superb as Sher Khan: Sonu Sood

Hyderabad: Actor Sonu Sood has been replaced by Telugu actor Srihari in the bilingual movie Zanjeer, which is a remake of the 1973 Hindi film with the same name, following the fracture of his leg in a match of Celebrity Cricket League. But the multilingual actor has no regrets for it. Instead, he has all praises for Srihari, whom he wishes good luck. Sonu says that he will look superb in Sher Khan's role.

Talking to IANS, Sonu Sood says, "Srihari is a wonderful actor and he will look superb as Sher Khan in Zanjeer. He adds, "Every role has its own destiny. I guess I was not destined to play Sher Khan. I've no regrets. I just want the film to do really well for my brother (director) Apoorva Lakhia."

A prominent lead actor of Telugu cinema and also an interesting crossover actor who likes to play character roles when required, Srihari was roped in on the recommendation of Ram Charan Teja, who plays the lead role in Zanjeer, a remake of the 1973 film of the same name. The film's current schedule involving busy bigwigs Sanjay Dutt, Priyanka Chopra and Ramcharan, was placed into crisis with Sonu's leg injury.

However, a source close to the production unit says, "Director Apoorva Lakhia had two choices. He could either cancel the schedule which would've meant heavy losses as the co-ordinated dates of these busy stars would've been near-impossible to obtain, or he could replace Sonu Sood. Lakhia opted for the latter option, but only after taking Sonu into confidence."

The director met Sood on Saturday and explained his predicament. Sonu agreed to opt out without a moment's hesitation. Interestingly, Srihari has played a character named Sher Khan earlier in the Telugu Blockbuster Magadheera, which also starred Sonu.