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The real reason Sushant Singh Rajput was forced to drop out of Half Girlfriend, replaced by Arjun Kapoor

Hindustan Times | By
Jun 24, 2020 07:10 PM IST

Sushant Singh Rajput was supposed to star in both Half Girlfriend and Fitoor, but was forced to drop out. The actor had explained the reason in an interview.

An old tweet by author Chetan Bhagat, in which he’d announced Sushant Singh Rajput’s casting in the film adaptation of his novel, Half Girlfriend, has been unearthed. Sushant dropped out of the film, and was replaced by Arjun Kapoor.

“So happy to share @itsSSR will play lead in @mohit11481 directed Half Girlfriend. Shooting begins 1Q16,” Chetan had tweeted in late 2015. Sushant had made his film debut with another Chetan Bhagat adaptation, Kai Po Che!. Sushant had said in an interview that he dropped out of Half Girlfriend and other films because of scheduling conflicts.

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The actor died by suicide last week, at the age of 34. He was suffering from depression. Following his death, the focus has once again been set on nepotism in the film industry. But even as Sushant’s fans highlight Chetan’s tweet as an example of nepotism, the actor had clarified the real reason behind his departure in a 2016 interview to Bollywood Life.

Also Watch l Nepotism versus talent: Sushant Singh’s death fuels Bollywood bullying row 

Asked about why he dropped out of Half Girlfriend in favour of Dinesh Vijan’s Raabta, Sushant had said, “See, I was doing many films and they are all releasing now. I don’t want to name them. What happens is, when I give my word to someone and he’s delaying (not because he wants to, but because of a particular reason) and I get to understand it, I won’t ditch. So be it the biggest film with the biggest studio or the smallest film, I won’t leave another film. So unfortunately, because of the two films that I was doing and that didn’t happen, I lost out on 12 films in the last one year. One film didn’t happen and the other was put off by a few months. And these films are the films that we generally talk about these days. Let’s not get into all that.”

Also read: Bulbbul movie review: Pretty but problematic, Anushka Sharma’s Netflix film is a flawed fairytale

Sushant was also supposed to star in Abhishek Kapoor’s Fitoor, but was replaced by Aditya Roy Kapur. Asked if he regretted not being a part of those films, the actor had said, “No. I don’t have any regrets. This is something I will follow for the rest of my life, the rest of my days that I am working in this industry. If I like the script and give you my word, I won’t ditch you just because I find some other film more exciting and bigger than the film I said yes to.”

He clarified, “I said yes to Dinesh Vijan long before Half Girlfriend was even offered to me. And because of a big confusion (again, because of someone else), we were told that we could shoot both films simultaneously. But it wasn’t the case because both directors wanted a particular month. So since I had said yes to Dinesh first, I had to opt out of Mohit’s film.”

Sushant also denied reports of a rift between him and Abhishek, and producer Ekta Kapoor. “Abhishek and I are supposed to meet again this week, for dinner. And Ekta called when she got to know what’s happening. She said what had happened was unfortunate and that she wasn’t aware that this was an issue created by a third person. We might not work on this project, but she has promised to work with me in the immediate future. My relationships with them are as normal as they were.”

Also read: Sushant Singh Rajput was troubled while shooting Kedarnath, felt all the love was going to Sara Ali Khan, says Abhishek Kapoor

Sushant would reunite with Abhishek on 2018’s Kedarnath, which also served as Sara Ali Khan’s Bollywood debut. The filmmaker admitted that Sushant was very troubled while making the film, and didn’t speak to him for many months following its release.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

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