Rajat Bedi, known for films like ‘Koi… Mil Gaya’ and ‘International Khiladi’, made a smashing comeback in Aryan Khan’s directorial debut ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’. But interestingly, the actor was all set to return to the big screen four years ago with Salman Khan’s ‘Radhe’. However, things took an unexpected turn when Salman Khan himself stepped in.
Rajat Bedi was selected for ‘Radhe’
In an old interview resurfaced on Reddit, shared on r/BollyBlindsNGossip, Rajat recalled, “Radhe main maine bilkul offer accept kiya. Mujhe Mukesh Chhabra ke office se phone aaya ki aap select ho gaye ho Radhe ke liye. Main bada khushi khushi jo unke (the film’s) writer hain, unko bhi mila. Voh bhi bade khush the… Radhe se mujhe laga bohot badhiya comeback vehicle mil jayega. (I completely accepted the offer for ‘Radhe’. I got a call from Mukesh Chhabra’s office saying I was selected for the film. I happily met the film’s writer, who was also very pleased. I felt that ‘Radhe’ would be a great comeback vehicle for me.)”The actor believed Radhe would mark a strong return to the big screen and bring him back into the spotlight.
Rajat Bedi expressed excitement to work with Salman Khan
Bedi shared that he was overjoyed by the chance to work with Salman Khan. He further shared, “Bohot badhiya project hai, aur specially, bhai (Salman Khan) ke saath kaam karna toh sabki iccha hai…Salman bhai ke saath toh humaare paarivarik rishtey… (It’s a very good project, and especially, everyone wishes to work with Salman bhai. We have a family relation with him…)”Bedi went on to explain that his family had long-standing ties with Salman’s family. “Unke saath kaam karne ka ek mauka mil jaye, voh hi bohot hai mere liye (Just getting a chance to work with him is more than enough for me.),” Rajat added.
Salman Khan stopped Rajat Bedi from doing ‘Radhe’?
However, things didn’t go as Rajat Bedi had expected. Salman Khan had other plans for the film and for Bedi’s comeback.The actor recalled, “Bhai ne mujhe bulaya… jab bhai ko pata laga ki Rajat voh role karne wala hai, tab bhai ne mujhe kaha, ‘Rajat, tu wait kar thoda sa; I want to give you a comeback vehicle which will be much better than Radhe.’ (Bhai called me… when he found out that I was going to do that role, he told me, ‘Rajat, wait for a bit; I want to give you a comeback vehicle that’s much better than Radhe.’)”Rajat added, “Jab bhai ne mujhe bola toh main chup reh gaya… bola ki, ‘Rajat, teri height, body aur personality are very good; you’ve maintained yourself very well, you wait, I’m going to give you a big comeback.’ Bhai ko kaun mana kar sakta hai? (When bhai said that to me, I stayed quiet. He said, ‘Rajat, your height, body, and personality are very good; you’ve maintained yourself very well. You wait — I’ll give you a big comeback.’ Who can refuse bhai?)”
Rajat Bedi felt heartbroken after Salman’s decision
In a later chat with PTI, Rajat shared how the incident unfolded in person. “For Radhe, they called me for a role through Prabhu Deva sir at Mehboob Studio. Salman bhai was there, and he was like, ‘You’re not going to do this one as it is not an appropriate role for you.’ I was heartbroken. I was like, ‘Sir, I’m getting a film to do with you and you’re saying, ‘I’ll give you something better, wait.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’m waiting to work with bhai again.’”
Rajat Bedi and Salman Khan in ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’
Interestingly, Salman Khan did appear briefly in Rajat’s comeback series ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’. While they did not share the screen together, it still brought the two together in the same project.
