Mukesh Khanna may have played many characters in television and films, but he is best known for playing the superhero Shaktimaan in an eponymous TV serial that ran from 1997 to 2005 on DD National. There has been much discourse over Ranveer Singh playing the superhero in a film. Four years ago, a Shaktimaan film was in the works at Sony Pictures India, with Ranveer's name thrown into the mix. However, Mukesh did not approve Ranveer's casting in the role.

Speaking to Zoom recently, the actor said that it does not suit Ranveer, unlike roles in films such as Gully Boy, Dhurandhar, and Padmaavat. Calling Ranveer Singh "terrific" both as an actor and as a person, Mukesh opined that the former is not an apt face for the role of Shaktimaan.

Earlier this Sunday, Mukesh Khanna shared a philosophical message on social media. Sharing a still from the set of his 2014 Malayalam film Rajadhi Raja, co-starring Mammootty, Mukesh said that people should work on themselves instead of trying to improve others. "Search for your own faults, fix them. Become a role model. Present yourself as an example in front of the public. They will look at you and correct themselves," Mukesh wrote. Mukesh seemed to be giving an indirect response to his Shaktimaan co-star Lalit Parimoo, who recently discussed the former's claim about his co-star disapproving Ranveer as the superhero following a three-hour conversation between them. Speaking to Siddharth Kannan about it, Lalit suggested that Mukesh might have made up the aforementioned conversation for publicity.

In the comments section, an Instagram user rhetorically told Mukesh to back up his words with action. The netizen wrote, "Main bhi vahi keh raha hu (I am also telling you the same), be role model for others.. Ab to aap ko Shaktiman ka role Ranvir Singh ko de dena chahiya (Now, you should give Ranveer Singh the role of Shaktimaan); he is a completely different person now." The user seems to be alluding to Ranveer Singh's raised stocks after the success of the Dhurandhar films.

In response to the user, Mukesh Khanna wrote, "Shaktimaan bhi acchi baateen karta tha (Shaktimaan used to talk well). Main bhi acchi baaten kar raha hoon (I am also talking positively). Different kaise ho gaya! (How has it become different?)."