'Shootout at Lokhandwala' producer recalls facing trouble after casting Vivek in lead role

Shootout at Lokhandwala producer Apoorva Lakhia has finally spoken on the backlash he faced after casting Vivek Oberoi in the lead role.

Apoorva, in conversation with Siddharth Kannan, revealed that most of the producers asked him to replace Vivek in the film or else they won’t work with him anymore.

Apoorva stated: "At that time when I cast Vivek, a lot of producers called me and said, ‘replace him or we won’t work with you.’ But I had given a commitment to Vivek, so how do you go back from a commitment?”

The producer revealed that he got strong support from Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty during this time.

“And Sanju sir supported me, Suniel Shetty supported me, Sanjay Gupta supported me. So, if these guys are supporting me, I thought why should I think about the future? If Shootout became a hit, whoever rejected me will come back."

During the time of Shootout at Lokhandwala, there was an unofficial boycott going on in the film industry against the Mission Istanbul actor.

Reportedly, the actor had a quarrel with Salman Khan back then. He called upon a press conference and revealed that the Dabangg actor has threatened him.

However, producer Apoorva called Vivek’s act wrong, but he still cast him in the film due to his talent.

"But Vivek was a good actor. Whatever he did was wrong, he shouldn’t have done it, but that does not mean he is not talented. I am hiring for his acting abilities.”

“I am not hiring any person for his personality. He is a professional and he was really good when I was reading with him. I think he did a fantastic job”, said Apoorva Lakhia.