In the history of Indian cinema, whenever there is a talk of bringing eternal culture, epics and religious characters on the silver screen, the emotions of the audience get directly connected to it. In the present era, when the time of the much-talked-about film 'Ramayana', being made under the direction of Nitish Tiwari and starring actor Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role, is very close to hit the theaters, at the same sensitive time, TV's most popular superheroes 'Shaktimaan' and B.R. Senior actor Mukesh Khanna, who played the immortal character of 'Bhishma Pitamah' in Chopra's historical 'Mahabharata', has opened an open front on the most sensitive issue of the film industry. Mukesh Khanna, always known for his outspokenness and frankness, in an explosive interview with Bollywood Bubble has shaken the casting process of mythological and historical films to its roots without taking any direct names. He has bluntly warned that filmmakers have to understand that mythological projects are not ordinary masala films, rather it is a subject to the faith and soul of crores of Sanatani devotees of the country, where any kind of lightness or commercial compromise is unforgivable. This statement of Mukesh Khanna has come at a time when the entire social media and cinema world is divided over Ranbir Kapoor's incarnation as Lord Shri Ram. While a large section is optimistic about the acting ability of the actor, the other section is constantly raising questions about his past image and personal lifestyle. Amidst this entire debate, Mukesh Khanna has touched the sore point of the film industry, towards which big producers and directors usually turn a blind eye. Khanna made it clear that the biggest crisis of Bollywood today is that for any historical or divine character, the divinity of the actor's face, his aura, his body language or his moral influence are not considered, but decisions are being taken only on the basis of his last Friday's box-office collection and the number of social media followers. Exposing the economic mathematics and corporate functioning of the industry, Mukesh Khanna said that in today's era, producers do not even bother to choose the right face for a character. Expressing his views, he said that I do not want to speak against any particular person because people often feel bad when they speak the truth, but the bitter truth is that our today's filmmakers are not at all serious or cautious about casting big historical and revered characters. Without thinking, they only sign such actors whose previous film has proved to be a huge hit at the box-office. The producers feel that by pasting that star's face on the poster, their budget of Rs 300 crore will already be secured. Taking a sharp dig at this corporate mentality, Mukesh Khanna explained that the makers forget that they recover the cost of Rs 300 crore by selling the digital rights on the very first day, but due to the wrong face, the huge public support of Rs 700 crore and the box-office history that could have been created, completely slips out of their hands. He said that today the situation has become such that long before the film is made, deals worth crores are locked with big OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. The money is already in the pocket, the script is written later and during the shooting of the film itself it becomes clear that the actor or actress standing on the screen is not even 10 percent worthy of that revered character. This is just a commercial manipulation, in which both art and faith are sacrificed. Taking his point forward as an experienced producer and actor, Mukesh Khanna openly attacked the distorted changes in the internal balance of power in the Hindi film industry. He said that I am able to say these things so strongly because I have been a filmmaker myself and have seen the late era of cinema very closely. The bitter truth of today's Bollywood is that here the director or producer does not cast any actor, rather it seems as if the big actor is casting the producer as per his own wish. The ego of the stars has grown so much that they themselves decide which god they want to become, which historical warrior they want to become and the entire production unit bows before them. Just because a certain star is being sold, he is picked up and placed on any sacred throne. During this, Mukesh Khanna raised a very basic but overlooked question that why established and big stars in Bollywood are never screen tested or properly auditioned? Giving the example of Hollywood, he said that even the world's biggest Oscar-winning actors have to go through dozens of auditions, body language tests and diction training before playing any mythological or historical character. But in India, if a star's previous film earned Rs 500 crore, then it is directly assumed that he can play the role of Lord Shri Ram, Mahadev or any Maharathi of Mahabharata without any preparation. Ending the audition culture is the biggest reason for most of the mythological films of Bollywood becoming flop and ridiculous. While explaining in detail the suitability of casting, Mukesh Khanna made the situation crystal clear by giving the example of Shahrukh Khan and Prabhas. He said that I have said this publicly long ago that Shahrukh Khan can be a great actor, but he can never look powerful. Shahrukh has an established romantic and urban image which the audience has been following for decades. If you pick him up and make him stand in the costume of Shaktimaan, the audience will never accept it. He advised filmmakers that the casting director should take time, look beyond the commercial aspects and star power and think whether the face will be able to do justice to the soul of the role. Soon after this, Mukesh Khanna also directly attacked the casting of Pan-India star Prabhas, citing Om Raut's controversial film 'Adipurush'. Khanna said in a harsh tone that what was seen in Adipurush? There nothing came in between the divine form of Lord Shri Ram, only a heavy moustache. He questioned whether Lord Shri Ram is depicted with that kind of mustache anywhere in our Vedas, Puranas, Valmiki Ramayana or Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas. Traditionally in our country, the form of Lord Ram is considered to be very soft, gentle and full of dignity, in which mustache has no place. He quipped that Prabhas might have refused to cut his mustache considering his South image and since he is such a big superstar, the hapless director bowed his head and agreed to his request. Mukesh Khanna stressed that no matter how big a star is, it can never be bigger than our eternal faith, our worship and the feelings of crores of our devotees. At the conclusion of his conversation, Mukesh Khanna gave a strong warning to Bollywood directors and writers and said that now the audience of the country has changed and is fully aware of its religious heritage. He said that today's Hindu has woken up from deep sleep after a very long time, now you cannot serve him anything as per your wish by dressing him in the garb of modernity. He asked the question, will you change the original Mahabharata written by Maharishi Vedvyas to please today's new generation or some youth on social media? Will you distort the sacred history of your ancestors just because the new generation likes to watch something fancy or western? Giving a sharp example, he said that if my great grandfather used to wear English cap or do western dance in those times and today's children like the same, then will you show the Gods of the scriptures doing the same? If you make films with full devotion and authenticity, without playing with our rich tradition and the faith of crores of people, then the public will themselves come forward and welcome your film. But if you make fun of faith in the name of appearing modern and try to forcibly impose wrong faces by making them gods, then the people of the country, like Adipurush, will not waste even a second in rejecting every such film.