Filmmakers on being accused of dropping Sushant from their films

Ever since Sushant Singh Rajput’s mysterious death, a number of films that the actor was apparently either replaced in, thrown out of, or shelved, are making the headlines.

The list includes: ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’ (2013), ‘Fitoor’ (2016), ‘Half Girlfriend’ (2017), ‘Romeo Akbar Walter’ (2019), ‘Paani’, ‘Sadak 2’. Also upcoming projects such as Rakesh Sharma Biopic, ‘Saare Jahaan Se Accha’ and N.R. Narayana Murthy-Sudha Murthy’s biopic, amongst others. Whilst Farhan Akhtar is now rumoured to be on board to play the lead in Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Rakesh Sharma biopic, rumours have been spreading that Akshay Kumar may well have been the reason behind Singh Rajput’s removal from Murthy’s biopic that is slated to be directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and written by her husband, filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari.

Hindustan Times reveals that they have spoken to the filmmakers who are accused of having dropped him, or shelved their respective films.

Nitesh Tiwari
“It’s very disheartening to see such baseless rumours. We haven’t yet finished writing the screenplay, we haven’t even shared it with Mr Narayan Murthy and Mrs Sudha Murthy for their approval, our studio partner is not on board yet. How could have we gone about casting the film? I shared a fantastic working relationship with Sushant and together we celebrated the tremendous success of our hard work in ‘Chhichhore’. I will forever remember him very fondly. Such rumours are not only doing disservice to Sushant but also to everyone who is seeking the truth.”

Mohit Suri
“Sushant didn’t have the dates for Half Girlfriend. He chose to do ‘Raabta’ over it, so, I moved on. There’s nothing else to it. It’s that plain and simple.

Robbie Grewal
“Sushant couldn’t do the film [RAW] only due to the date issues. He had a backlog of his other films that had moved ahead. We needed around 40-45 days at a stretch for the film, while he could manage only about 10 days. So, we had mutually decided to move ahead, on good terms. It’s not as if he was fired from the film.”

Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Production House Spokesperson
“This is to clarify that the late Mr Sushant Singh Rajput was not approached for the Rakesh Sharma biopic.”

The publication also spoke to industry experts who shared their views on the kinds of mental anguish losing a film causes an actor.

Rajput passed away on 14th June 2020. CBI has started its probe into his death.