Veteran actor Aditya Pancholi was the original choice to star opposite Madhuri Dixit in N. Chandra’s 1988 blockbuster Tezaab, before he was replaced by Anil Kapoor, said Pancholi on Monday.

Taking a subtle dig at Kapoor, Pancholi suggested that he had been a victim of ‘favouritism, manipulation and power games’ in the film industry.

“I was the original choice for Tezaab (1988), opposite @MadhuriDixit. Director N. Chandra, still very much around can confirm this. Unfortunately, an actor, through his elder brother (who remains active in the industry), influenced the director to replace me. The rest, as they say, is history,” wrote Pancholi on X.

Reflecting on what he described as issues deeper than nepotism, the actor-producer added, “Recently, I saw an #Actor speak about nepotism while promoting his new release. Let me say this clearly: Politics in the film industry runs deeper than #Nepotism, Favouritism, manipulation, and power games shape careers more than family ties ever could.”

The post soon went viral on social media with netizens wondering if Pancholi was talking about Boney Kapoor and Anil Kapoor.

Directed, produced, and co-written by N. Chandra, Tezaab was a major commercial success at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of 1988. It ran in theatres for more than 50 weeks, becoming a golden jubilee success. The music for Tezaab was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Anupam Kher, Chunky Pandey, Kiran Kumar, and Annu Kapoor also played key roles in the film.

Tezaab is currently available to stream on Prime Video.