Did you know Chiranjeevi could have portrayed Manoj Bajpayee's character in 'The Family Man'?

'The Family Man' has captured the hearts of audiences worldwide with its gripping storytelling and stellar performances. Manoj Bajpayee's portrayal of Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class man leading a secret life as an intelligence officer, has become iconic. However, what if we told you that this series was initially conceived as a Telugu movie with none other than Chiranjeevi in mind for the lead role?
The masterminds behind 'The Family Man,' Raj & DK, initially envisioned their creation as a feature film rather than a web series.Their first choice for the protagonist was the legendary Chiranjeevi. In hindsight, it's difficult to imagine anyone else but Manoj Bajpayee embodying Srikant Tiwari, but the notion of Chiranjeevi taking on the role is undoubtedly intriguing.
'The Family Man' has enjoyed tremendous success with two outstanding seasons. Nevertheless, the initial discussions revolved around crafting a Telugu movie with Chiranjeevi as the lead. This revelation came to light through producer Ashwini Dutt, who disclosed that Raj & DK were enthusiastic about adapting 'The Family Man' into a Telugu film, with Chiranjeevi as the central character. In a surprising move, they were even willing to omit the characters of Srikant's children from the script to accommodate the Megastar's preferences.
Regrettably, Chiranjeevi declined the project, leaving fans to ponder what might have been. Raj & DK had reportedly tailored the script with Chiranjeevi in mind, but the actor was hesitant about how his fans would perceive him in a role that required him to play a father of two children. When Chiranjeevi expressed these reservations to the creators, they even considered rewriting the script to exclude the children's characters, but the project failed to take off with the Megastar.
Chiranjeevi was riding high on the success of 'Khaidi No 150' when he was presented with the script that would eventually evolve into 'The Family Man.' It's a decision that undoubtedly left fans speculating on the alternate universe where Chiranjeevi took on the role of Srikant Tiwari.