Mumbai Saga: Mahesh Manjrekar joins cast of John Abraham's gangster drama after Jackie Shroff's exit

Mahesh Manjrekar has replaced Jackie Shroff after the actor exited Mumbai Saga due to a scheduling conflict. The film is helmed by Sanjay Gupta, who has previously directed films like Kaabil, Shootout at Wadala, and Kaante. Mahesh will play a Maharashtrian politician in the upcoming gangster drama, reports Mumbai Mirror.

Mahesh Manjrekar in Saaho. Image from Twitter

"I was really looking forward to working with Jackie but due to a date mess-up, he had to quit. Mahesh is my go-to person, we’ve shared a bond since we first collaborated on Kaante and subsequently worked on several films together. When I explained the situation to him, he told me he was on. We only had to sort the dates as he’s busy acting and directing," Sanjay told Mirror.

Mahesh is expected to join the shoot from next week where he will film sequences of his character leading political rallies. He also shares screen space with John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi. As the story spans over five to six years, the actor will be seen in two different looks.

Set in the 1980s-'90s, the film revolves around all that went into transforming Bombay into Mumbai. The film, as Times of India previously reported, will showcase the shutdown of iconic textile mills, the murder of a noted businessman, and how the underworld, the cops, and the politicians changed the city's landscape.

The project is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Anuradha Gupta, and Sangeeta Ahir. It will hit the theatres on 19 June, 2020. Mumbai Saga stars Kajal Aggarwal, Samir Soni, Suniel Shetty, Amole Gupte, Prateik Babbar, Gulshan Grover and Rohit Roy.

Mahesh has hosted both seasons of Bigg Boss Marathi and was last seen in a negative role alongside Prabhas in Saaho. He also played Abhimanyu Dassani's grandfather in Vasan Bala's Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota.