Bollywood actor Bobby Deol made his grand acting debut as a lead in the 1995 film Barsaat. While the film was initially supposed to be directed by Shekhar Kapur, he left the project and Rajkumar Santoshi took over. Now, in an interview with Filmfare, Shekhar revealed that he didn’t walk out but was thrown out of the film.
Shekhar Kapur says he never walked out of Bobby Deol-Twinkle Khanna’s Barsaat. Shekhar Kapur on being thrown out of Barsaat
Talking about Barsaat, Shekhar said, “I never walked out, I have been thrown out of films, I was fired. Barsaat was an idea that was being developed, and I think I wasn’t quite understanding Dharam ji’s (Dharmendra) ideas. Then Sunny was in London, and he called the next guy who took over, Rajkumar Santoshi.”
He added, “So I talked to Raj ji and told him that since you have done films before with all of them, can you talk to Dharam ji? And he said, ‘Haan main sambhal leta hoon.’ (Yes, I’ll handle it). And the next day I found out he was directing it. That’s it. That’s all that happened. People say I walked out of it, but let me be honest, I didn’t walk out of it. Mind you, I immediately went and made Bandit Queen.”
In 2023, while speaking at the Jagran Film Festival, Bobby said, “I started shooting for the film very early and Shekhar Kapur was the director. We shot for the film for 27 days. He then got an offer from Hollywood to make Bandit Queen. Shekhar said, ‘I will do Bandit Queen and come back to do Barsaat.’ But my father told him that he didn’t want to delay it. He told Shekhar, ‘You go do your film, I will find somebody else.’ And I think Rajkumar Santoshi was waiting to direct my film. I got lucky with him.”
About Barsaat
Barsaat (1995) marked the Bollywood debut of Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna, both of whom instantly became popular with audiences. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, the romantic drama tells the story of Badal (Bobby Deol), a small-town man who moves to the city for education and falls in love with Tina (Twinkle Khanna). Made on a budget of ₹8 crore, the film emerged as a commercial success, earning ₹33.90 crore worldwide.
About Shekhar Kapur
Shekhar is known for his visionary storytelling and international acclaim. He gained prominence with the 1983 classic Masoom, followed by the cult hit Mr. India (1987). He earned global recognition with Bandit Queen (1994), based on the life of Phoolan Devi, which won widespread critical praise. Transitioning to Hollywood, Kapur directed the Oscar-winning historical drama Elizabeth (1998) and its sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), both earning multiple Academy Award nominations.