Filmmaker Suneel Darshan has revealed that actor Akshay Kumar suddenly walked out of the 2005 romantic drama ‘Barsaat’, even after filming a song with Priyanka Chopra. The film eventually starred Bobby Deol, Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu, but it was originally designed for Akshay and Priyanka to reunite after their hit film ‘Andaaz’.Suneel, who directed and produced the film, spoke about this unexpected change in casting during a conversation with Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel. He hinted that media gossip and personal issues in Akshay’s life played a big part in the actor’s decision to leave.
Film was planned after ‘Andaaz’
Suneel explained that the film was developed soon after their earlier hit. “Barsaat was designed immediately after Andaaz to again be a triangular love story with a new dimension, and Akshay was cast in the lead role.” He said Akshay had some scheduling problems in the beginning and asked for a small delay, which the producer agreed to.
Song with Priyanka was already filmed
The team had already completed the music and even shot a romantic number with Akshay and Priyanka. But then, things started getting delayed when Priyanka had to travel abroad. “Priyanka Chopra had some international shows for which she was out for 3 months. So the film kept getting delayed,” Suneel said.
Akshay asked to meet on set
When Priyanka came back and the film was set to move into its final stage, Suneel got an unexpected invite from Akshay, not to the office as usual, but to the actor’s set. The filmmaker recalled, “He called me to inform me that there were some issues which were uncontrollable and had repercussions on his personal life. He asked me to take a decision on how we move forward.”
Personal troubles behind the exit
Although rumours about a possible relationship between Akshay and Priyanka had already reached the media, Suneel made it clear that Akshay didn’t refuse to work with Priyanka directly. “Either of them, the circumstances had reached such a point where… there were issues,” he explained. The decision was left to the producer. “The audience, the public, the media did mention of a relationship, which the wife got more of…”Suneel admitted he was taken aback when Akshay walked away from the film after so much effort had already gone into it. He added, “Suddenly after asking that person to wait for 18 months for your dates, you one day just say, ‘Sorry, I can’t be a part of it.’ I was shocked.”
Akshay promised for 100 movies
Akshay later tried to make it up to the filmmaker by offering to work on another film instead. But by then, Suneel had already made up his mind, “He did want to compensate by saying that I did the next film for you. But I did not. I just thought this was unbelievable. Coming from Akshay… your expectations were never too much.”Despite everything, Suneel held no grudges against the actor. He ended the topic on a calm note, sharing how much they had worked together over the years. “He had promised me he would want to do 100 movies with me. I managed to do seven,” Suneel concluded.
