Actor Prashant Narayanan claimed to have turned down an offer to star in the acclaimed BAFTA-nominated film Rang De Basanti because he felt disrespected by a production assistant. He said that the disagreement happened over money, and that he’d spent a year attached to the project by then. The role eventually went to Sharman Joshi, and Rang De Basanti remains one of the most well-regarded Hindi movies of the last two decades.
In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Prashant Narayanan claimed to be close friends with Aamir and director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, but couldn’t recall why he didn’t approach them with his grievances. He said in Hindi, “I turned down Rang De Basanti because the person who they’d sent to discuss money with me was rude. He’ll never forget what I told him, I can’t repeat it here. Aamir and all are my friends, he really likes me. I spent a year on that film with Rakeysh Mehra, I was doing the role that Sharman eventually did. Then Rakeysh offered me Siddharth’s role, but I was in Canada by then.”
Also read – Raaj Kumar threw a fistful of gulaal in arch-rival Dilip Kumar’s eyes despite being asked not to multiple times; Saudagar set came to a standstill
He continued, “The disagreement happened over money. I’d been attached to the project for a year, I was doing script readings, speaking with Rakeysh. I thought he’d handle the financial discussion himself, but it was some production person. I went to meet him and he said, ‘This is what we’re ready to offer’. I asked, ‘Have you already decided or is this a negotiation’? I told him, ‘Yeh mere 6 mahine ke conveyance ka paisa hai (This is what I’d spend on conveyance for six months)’. He told me that I’m getting an opportunity to work with Aamir, so I shouldn’t be this stubborn. What I told him next I can’t repeat here.”
The actor added that had he heard AR Rahman’s music before the incident, he would’ve overlooked the rudeness. Rang De Basanti debuted to critical and commercial success in 2006. The movie also featured Kunal Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, and Alice Patten. Previously, actors Shahid Kapoor and Arjun Rampal have both spoken about turning down roles in the political drama.
Click for more updates and latest Bollywood news along with Entertainment updates. Also get latest news and top headlines from India and around the world at The Indian Express.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
