Kajol reveals the heartbreaking reason she said no to Salaam Venky at first: ‘You wouldn’t wish it on an enemy…’

Since her return to acting with Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale (2015) alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol has been choosy with her projects and the subject they feature. She almost turned down her upcoming project, Salaam Venky as well (2022), directed by Revathy, which is based on Shirkant Murthy’s book The Last Hurrah. (Also read: Kajol requests Revathi to pose for paparazzi as they promote Salaam Venky, she tells her ‘don’t come near me’. Watch)

Salaam Venky also features Vishal Jethwa as Kajol’s ailing son Venky. Aahana Kumra, Rahul Bose, Prakash Raj, Ananth Mahadevan, Priyamani and Kamal Sadanah, Kajol’s first co-star, are also part of the ensemble cast of the upcoming drama film.

In an interview with the Indian Express.com, Kajol explained that she was hesitant to take on a film project that would feature her onscreen child suffering. She stated that when Revathy came to her with a film about the relationship between a mother and her terminally-ill son, the first thing she said was no.

Kajol elaborated, “I refused the film for three days. I was like, ‘I am not doing this film, I don’t want do a film in which anything happens to my children.’ I cannot handle that. It’s every parents’ worst nightmare, you wouldn’t even wish this on your enemy, it’s that kind of a situation.”

But when the actor-turned-filmmaker Revathy asked her to sit and think about the story, the actor eventually reconsidered. “I then spent 10 minutes, being a full fan of Revathy ma’am,” she said. “When you watch the film, you’ll realise who the real star of the film is— it’s her.”

Revathy’s directorial debut Mitr, My Friend (2002) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English. She also directed the Hindi film Phir Milenge (2004) starring Shilpa Shetty, Salman Khan and Abhishek Bachchan.

The film’s trailer, which was unveiled earlier this month, revealed that Aamir Khan would be part of the feature in a special cameo. Salaam Venky is due to be released in theatres on December 9.