Siddharth Nigam has opened up about losing the lead role in Azaad, a part he says he was initially considered for, only to discover much later that it went instead to Aaman Devgan, nephew of actor-producer Ajay Devgn.
In an interview, Siddharth shared that he had high hopes for the film, describing the whole experience as “a personal realisation and pain.” The movie, which ultimately introduced Aaman Devgan and Raveena Tandon’s daughter, Rasha Thadani, hit theatres earlier this year.
Siddharth’s mother, Vibha Nigam, recounted how everything unfolded. “I took him along for the meeting. The entire script was narrated, and we waited for a year. I was happy because the film was good, and Siddharth would have had a strong launch in Bollywood. I really loved the script,” she recalled.
But the wait didn’t end with a call; it came as a shock. “Suddenly, after two years, Siddharth showed me the poster of Azaad and said, ‘Mum, this has been released, and these are the people in the film.’ Then we saw that the film starred Ajay Devgn’s nephew and Rasha. For the first time in my life, I felt bad. When things like this happen, as a mother, it hurts. Then I realised both of them were star kids, and that made all the difference,” she added.
Despite the letdown, Siddharth held no resentment. “There’s no one to blame. This is the business industry, so there’s no point in asking why they did it — they must have had their own reasons. It’s more of a personal realisation and pain. You get your hopes up thinking something might work out. We wait for an entire year, and then we see the teaser. So after watching it, we just thought, ‘Oh, okay. Let’s move on,’” he said.
Azaad, which premiered on January 17, 2025, didn’t do well at the box office but did earn Rasha Thadani some praise for her dance performance in Uyi Amma.