Abhishek Bachchan on his patch-up with Anurag Kashyap: It was like a nikaah

Anurag Kashyap and Abhishek Bachchan, the director and star of Manmarziyaan, hadn’t spoken to each other for 10-15 years because of a dispute. Here’s how they patched up.

Abhishek Bachchan and Anurag Kashyap in a new interview have spoken about their past differences and how they patched up before working together in the upcoming romantic drama, Manmarziyaan.

When asked about whether he had any apprehensions about reconnecting with Abhishek, Anurag said that initially when Abhishek’s name was floated for the role, he had wondered that maybe the studio didn’t know about their past, so he requesting a meeting first. “They all knew,” he said.

“Everybody thought there was tension, but our tension was resolved years ago,” he continued.

Abhishek played the lead in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva, which had been written by Kashyap. It was rumoured that Kashyap was displeased with Abhishek’s performance in the film. “That’s history now. I first worked with Anurag in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva; he had written it. I don’t think he liked my work in the film. And it’s only fair because we had spent a lot of time doing readings for the film. So somewhere, maybe he felt a little disappointed when he watched the movie. But we never spoke about it. Now, we’ve put all that behind us,” Abhishek said recently, according to a Pinkvilla report.

Kashyap in a recent interview to DNA had said that because of his negative reaction towards Abhishek’s performance, they ‘didn’t talk for 10-15 years’.

Indian actors Taapsee Pannu(C), Abhishek Bachchan (L) and Vicky Kaushal pose for a picture during a promotional event for the upcoming film Manmarizyaan. (AFP)

“This so-called reconciliation was like a ‘nikaah’,” Abhishek told Masand. “A long time back at a Diwali party we sat and talked about it,” Anurag chimed in. “Once we sat across (from each other) it was all clear.”

Anurag had written in a 2010 Facebook post that Abhishek’s father, actor Amitabh Bachchan, had sabotaged the release of Shonali Bose’s film Chittagong to give a clearer shot to Abhishek’s similarly themed film, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.

Anurag, according to a Times of India report, had written on Facebook, “See Chittagong, a far superior film made on the same subject as Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.. At 1/8 th the cost, far superior actors and immense passion... Producers decided to sit on it, because of a phone call from someone, because that someone was trying desperately to save his son’s career... welcome to Bollywood, where whose son you are outshines all the hard work and passion and potential and talent. KHJJS came and went, now what?”

Manmarziyaan will be released in cinemas on September 14. The film is co-produced by Aanand L Rai and also stars Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal.