Mumbai: Randeep Hooda recently shared something surprising. He said he was once offered a big role in the movie Rang De Basanti but turned it down. Looking back, he now feels it was a big mistake that could have changed his career.
He was offered the role of Bhagat Singh in the film, which later went to actor Siddharth. Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra really wanted Randeep in the film and even visited him many times, sometimes while drunk, asking him to do the movie.
But Randeep said no. At that time, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma offered him a lead role in another movie called D. Ram Gopal Varma told him, “Do you want to stand behind Aamir Khan on a poster?” That hit Randeep’s ego. He said, “My Jaat pride came out,” and he rejected Rang De Basanti.
“If I would have done Rang De Basanti, I would have come in a different league. I gave the audition and I liked it. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra would come to me, sometimes driving drunk, and he would ask me, ‘Kar le kar le picture karle.’ I asked him to drive safely. I wanted to do that film, but during that time, Ram Gopal Varma told me, ‘I am thinking of casting you in the lead role in D, and you will go and stand behind Aamir in the poster.’ Meri Jaat akad nikal aai and I said, ‘I won’t stand behind Aamir.’ That happened, and I left Rock On for similar reasons.”
Rang De Basanti went on to become a huge success. It won a National Award and was India’s official entry for the Oscars. It was a film that changed how patriotism was shown in Bollywood.
He also admitted that he chose to work with unique filmmakers instead of big names. That might be why his career growth was slower.
Still, Randeep Hooda is known today for his strong acting in films like Highway, Sarbjit, and his latest movie Jaat.
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