Padmaavat has released after a long and arduous battle what with protesters demanding a ban. However, now that the film is out, everyone is offering their two cents about what could have been done differently or about how everything that was done was picture perfect. One of the major topics of discussion is the character of Allaudin Khilji and understandably so. The character of the conqueror was so layered and nuanced that every actor worth his salt would want to sink his teeth into it.

However, Ranveer Singh was the chosen one, who got the privilege of making the character his own. Thankfully, he managed to nail it too. And we aren’t the only ones who thought so. Jim Sarbh, who plays Khilji’s trusted aide, Malik Kafur in the film, is of the opinion that no one else than Ranveer could have done justice to the character. In an exclusive interview with us, when asked if he would like to play Allaudin instead of Malik, he said, “I don’t see anyone else as Allaudin Khilji but Ranveer Singh.” Woah, now that’s quite a compliment for Ranveer, especially since it is coming from a co-actor. (Also read: Padmaavat song Binte Dil: Ranveer Singh and Jim Sarbh’s chemistry will put Bollywood’s favourite jodis to shame)

While Jim certainly thinks that no one but Ranveer was capable of playing the menacing conqueror, the other lead of the film, Shahid Kapoor, begs to differ. In an exclusive interview with us, when he was asked if he would have liked to play Khilji, Shahid said, “I told him (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) so many times I want to do Khilji. But I think Ranveer has done a great job and full marks to him for having created Khilji in his interpretation. Mine would have been different but in the end it is Sanjay Bhansali’s vision. So I think everybody is catering to that.”

Well, like we said, every actor would want to pull off what Ranveer did with Khilji. How did you like Ranveer’s performance? Tell us in the comments below…