Ruslaan Mumtaz was first seen in Mera Pehla Pehla Pyar which was a rage with the younger watchers. More recently, he was seen in Teree Sang which was deemed a kid/adult film and depicted the story of a young couple who become pregnant and have to learn to grow up rather quick. However, the actor lost out to Dev Patel in the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire because of his rather “beefy” look. “Truthfully, it would have been wonderful if I would have got to play the role in Slumdog Millionaire – it was a fantastic film. But it’s okay if I couldn’t. I don’t regret it,” admits the 26-year-old actor.
He also went on to claim that he was called to the final audition for Slumdog four months after he was called for his first audition only to chopped and replaced by Dev Patel. When they had initially called him, the actor had more of a “lean” look which is exactly what the makers of the film required from their lead actor. However, four months later, he had “beefed” up and that very trait forced the makers to look elsewhere. Ruslaan went on to say, “I couldn’t wait for Slumdog Millionaire and I accepted another film called Jaane Kahaan Se Aayi Hai where I had to play a superstar and I wasn’t supposed to look lean. So, when the crew of Slumdog… saw me in the final auditions, I looked different and then didn’t cast me.”
The actor is receiving rave reviews for his portrayal of a 17-year-old father in Teree Sang. While the film is yet to make waves at the box office, his performance and the film’s freshness is definitely being appreciated.
