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Aug 19, 2024 03:06 PM IST
Abhishek Banerjee has reacted to his recent statement about being fired from Dharma Productions’ Agneepath as a casting director.
Abhishek Banerjee has made significant strides in Bollywood, excelling not only as an actor but also as a well-known casting director. In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, the actor mentioned that he was asked to leave Karan Malhotra’s Agneepath because the latter was not impressed by his casting choice. Abhishek has since clarified his statement, emphasizing that his words were “misinterpreted as accusatory.” (Also read: Stree 2 actor Abhishek Banerjee recalls being thrown out of Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions for this reason)
Abhishek Banerjee says his statement was misinterpreted
Abhishek took to his Twitter handle and shared a note which read, “This week I have been blessed with two releases and one controversy. I’ve been reading and hearing a lot of reports about Dharma Productions supposedly firing my company, Casting Bay, during the casting process of Agneepath (2012). Unfortunately, this situation has been completely misrepresented as accusatory on our part. In a podcast/interview, I had stated the reason for our dismissal, acknowledging that we were unable to align with the vision of director Karan Malhotra for Agneepath. I also emphasized that Anmol and I were quite young at the time, around 20 to 23 years old, with little to no experience in casting for a major commercial film, which perhaps led to us misinterpreting Mr. Malhotra’s requirements for the project.”
Abhishek Banerjee feels grateful to Karan Johar
“I have not accused or suggested any wrongdoing on the part of Dharma Productions. In fact, I have deep respect for Dharma Productions and Karan Johar. I never mentioned Karan Johar in relation to our dismissal, yet some reports falsely claim that he was the one who fired us. The decision was actually made by Mr. Malhotra’s team, and I accepted our mistakes. I shared this story to encourage young people that even if you fail or hit a roadblock, you can always bounce back, as we did. We went on to work on several projects with Dharma, starting with Ok Jaanu, Student of the Year 2, Kalank and recent releases like Kill and Gyarah Gyarah. Additionally, Dharma even cast me as an actor in Ajeeb Daastaans. Dharma has always been very good to me and to my company, Casting Bay. It is a relationship we value and nurture. PS: I am not putting this out for the hamper. Abhishek Banerjee.”
Abhishek’s Independence Day releases – Vedaa, Stree 2
Abhishek recently reprised his character of Jana in Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor’s horror-comedy Stree 2. The character had also appeared in Varun Dhawan-Kriti Sanon starrer Bhediya and Sharvari-Abhay Verma starrer Munjya. The actor is a part of the Maddock Supernatural Universe and has featured in all the spin-off sequels. Abhishek also portrayed the antagonist in John Abraham-Sharvari’s action-thriller Vedaa. The Nikhil Advani directorial also starred Tamannaah Bhatia and The film also featured Ashish Vidyarthi, Kumud Mishra and others in crucial roles. Stree 2 and Vedaa clashed at the box office on August 15.
Abhishek will be next seen in Suriya-Pooja Hegde’s Tamil action-drama Suriya 44.
