Shastry Viruddh Shastry: Not Shiv Panditt but Shahid Kapoor & Ayushmann Khurrana were first choices for the film?

Filmmaker Nandita Roy and Shiboprasad Mukherjee’s Shastry Viruddh Shastry featuring the ensemble cast of Paresh Rawal, Neena Kulkarni, Shiv Panditt, Mimi Chakraborty, Amruta Subhash, Manoj Joshi, Kabir Pahwa, Tiku Talsania and Adinath Kothare, released last week at the box office. The family drama garnered critical acclaim and praises for its story and performances. While Shiv Panditt, who played Rawal’s son and father of a seven-year-old kid, impressed the audience with his portrayal, reportedly he was not the first choice for the film. As per Zoom, the makers went to Ayushmann Khurrana followed by Shahid Kapoor and both stars refused the role as none of them wanted to play the father of a 7-year-old. However, one can consider that the Haider actor already played the role of a 7-year-old boy in Jersey, which featured Mrunal Thakur and Pankaj Kapur in prominent roles. The makers later went to Shiv Panditt with the script, which he liked and came on board for the film.

Talking about the review, Firstpost gave Shastry Viruddh Shastry 3 stars and wrote, “Directors Nandita Roy and Shiboprasad Mukherjee have handled the sensitive and emotional subject of parenthood and parenting in the most sensible manner. Each and every situation will find relevance among the audience. The director duo makes you teary-eyed with some beautiful sequences and literally makes you feel for the characters. In fact, they perfectly managed to strike a balance between all the characters by keeping their essence and traits intact, which will leave you thinking about who is right. Manohar or Malhar?”