By Subhash K. Jha, IANS

Shreyas Talpade who played a supporting role to Ayesha Takiya and Gul Panag in his mentor Nagesh Kukunoor's "Dor" seems to have a reality-check problem.

Ram Gopal Varma was keen to cast him in the small but unforgettable role of the young callow Muslim boy who gets slaughtered by Gabbar Singh in "Sholay".

But Shreyas had second and third thoughts about the role, which was played by Sachin in the original.

According to a source from Ram Varma's office, "Shreyas first said he was playing the lead in other projects and couldn't afford to do a cameo at this stage of his career.

"When Ramuji reasoned there are no small roles in 'Sholay', Shreyas wanted time to think about it. He reverted saying he wanted a full narration. Not even Amitabh Bachchan asked Ramu for a full narration. That's when Ramuji dumped Shreyas and signed Channel V veejay Gaurav for the role."

Shreyas' behaviour surprised Varma also.

He said: "I was quite taken aback. When Sachin played the role of the Muslim boy in 'Sholay' he had two super-hits 'Geet Gata Chal' and 'Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se' as a hero. Yet Sachin jumped at it. But I guess Shreyas had his reasons for doing what he did.

"It's a pity because many supporting roles in my 'Sholay' have been fleshed out. Ask Sushant Singh how happy he is to be playing Samba. In the earlier 'Sholay' it was a three-scene role. Now Samba is crucial to Gabbar's plans.

"Similarly, the role of the Muslim boy would be very different from the original. I'm very happy with Gaurav. He has worked with me in 'Darna Mana Hai'. I like to work with hassle-free actors who don't have delusions of grandeur. 'Sholay' only required one actor Bachchan as Gabbar. That in place, the rest just followed."

As for Shreyas, will he remain a one-film wonder, Iqbal?