Abhishek Banerjee issues clarification over his statement about dismissal from Agneepath: ‘I have not accused Dharma Productions’

After Abhishek Banerjee's statement about getting fired by Dharma Productions stirred a controversy, the Stree 2 actor issued clarification stating that it was all misrepresented.

3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Aug 19, 2024 05:12 PM IST

Abhishek Banerjee talks about Agneepath controversy (Photo: Abhishek Banerjee/ Instagram)

Actor Abhishek Banerjee, who was last seen in Stree 2 and Vedaa, found himself in the eye of the storm recently. Controversy came knocking at his door after his statement from a recent interview went viral. During the promotion of his latest films, Abhishek appeared on a podcast where he spoke about his casting business with his friend Anmol Ahuja. He also shared how their agency Casting Bay was dismissed during the casting for Agneepath after he and Anmol failed to understand the director’s vision.

Unfortunately, his statement was misreported by several publications that said it was Karan Johar who fired their agency. Now, clearing the air, Abhishek issued a statement saying that he never intended to accuse Dharma Productions and never even mentioned Karan.

Also Read: Dharma Productions fired us, thought career was over,’ Abhishek Bannerjee recalls getting fired from Agneepath for casting ‘Anurag Kashyap-type actors’

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A post shared by Abhishek Banerjee (@nowitsabhi)

His statement read, “This week I have been blessed with two releases and one controversy. I’ve been reading and hearing a lot of reports about Dharma Productions supposedly firing my company, Casting Bay, during the casting process of Agneepath (2012). Unfortunately, this situation has been completely misrepresented as accusatory on our part. In a podcast/interview, I had stated the reason for our dismissal, acknowledging that we were unable to align with the vision of director Karan Malhotra for Agneepath. I also emphasized that Anmol and I were quite young at the time, around 20 to 23 years old, with little to no experience in casting for a major commercial film, which perhaps led to us misinterpreting Mr. Malhotra’s requirements for the project.”

Also Read | Stree 2 box office collection day 4: Shraddha Kapoor-Rajkummar Rao’s film crosses Rs 280 crore mark

“I have not accused or suggested any wrongdoing on the part of Dharma Productions. In fact, I have deep respect for Dharma Productions and Karan Johar. I never mentioned Karan Johar in relation to our dismissal, yet some reports falsely claim that he was the one who fired us. The decision was actually made by Mr. Malhotra’s team, and I accepted our mistakes. I shared this story to encourage young people that even if you fail or hit a roadblock, you can always bounce back, as we did. We went on to work on several projects with Dharma, starting with Ok Jaanu, Student of the Year 2, Kalank, and recent releases like – Kill and Gyarah Gyarah. Additionally, Dharma even cast me as an actor in Ajeeb Daastaans. Dharma has always been very good to me and my company, Casting Bay. It is a relationship we value and nurture.

PS: I am not putting this out for the hamper!

Regards,

Abhishek Banerjee.”

Before Stree 2 and Vedaa, Abhishek Banerjee has starred in films like Munjya, Dream Girl 2, Bhediya, and many more.

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