Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan is regarded as one of the greatest films of recent times. The 2015 movie introduced then-debutante Harshaali Malhotra in the lead role with Salman. Actress Meher Vij recently recalled being typecast as a mom after starring in Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor-starrer and Aamir Khan’s Secret Superstar. Meher stated that she doesn’t want to watch women in weak roles.
During a new interview with NDTV, Meher Vij, who was cast as Harshaali Malhotra’s on-screen mom in Kabir Khan’s directorial Bajrangi Bhaijaan, remembered she received various offers after Secret Superstar. However, the actress didn’t get the role she wanted to perform in movies.
Meher elaborated on it by saying that she doesn’t want to be a monotonous actor who keeps playing certain characters. While sharing her experience, the Secret Superstar actress recalled that the makers would put her in a box while offering roles to her.
Recounting how she rejected those roles, Meher expressed, “I said, ‘I don’t want to do this. I’m not here to play a certain type of role. I want to see myself in stronger characters.’ It’s a personal choice; I don’t want to see women in weak roles’.”
The 38-year-old actress clarified that while her role in Bajrangi Bhaijaan wasn’t a weak character, there is a need for female actors to pick action-based roles.
Speaking to the same portal, Meher Vij also reminisced how she bagged the role in Salman Khan‘s film, Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Meher shared that she was shooting for an advertisement when she received a call from casting director Mukesh Chhabra for the part in Kabir Khan’s directorial.
The actress continued that she went to meet the makers and was told to confirm whether the mole under her eyes was real or not. When she enquired about the same, the casting team informed her that director Kabir Khan asked about her mole.
Meher recalled that she confirmed that the mole was indeed real and ended up bagging the role of Munni’s mother Razia in Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor-starrer. The actress shared that she didn’t speak to Kabir Khan about the reason behind him asking for the mole. Meher imagined the mole could have attracted them or added value to her character in the 2015 film.
Bajrangi Bhaijaan starred Salman Khan as Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi. Kareena played the role of Rasika Pandey. Harshaali was cast as Shahida Aziz aka Munni. The 2015 film also featured Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sharat Saxena, and Om Puri in key roles.
Headlined by Aamir Khan and Zaira Wasim, Secret Superstar was released in 2017. Zaira was cast as a teenage girl, Insia Malik who aspires to be a singer and Aamir played the lead role of Shakti Kumar, a music director based in Mumbai in Advait Chandan’s directorial. Meher essayed the role of Zaira’s on-screen mother, Nazma Malik in the 2017 coming-of-age story.
Apart from Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Secret Superstar, Meher Vij has also worked in movies like Lucky: No Time for Love, Tum Bin II, Bhoot: Part One The Haunted Ship, and Maharaj. Meher recently played the lead role in Bandaa Singh Chaudhary. The recently released film stars Arshad Warsi in the titular role.
Directed by filmmaker Abhishek Saxena, Bandaa Singh Chaudhary was released on October 25, 2024. The action-drama is produced by Arbaaz Khan.
