‘Was in touch with Salman Khan throughout’: Fardeen Khan recalls leaving the country as career spiraled, says it was ‘scary’ to restart

Fardeen Khan said that even though he was away from the industry for over a decade, he remained in constant touch with Salman Khan, with whom he had worked in No Entry.

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | June 15, 2024 01:00 PM IST

3 min read

Fardeen Khan talks about his long sabbatical and touching base with Salman Khan. (Photo: Fardeen Khan, Salman Khan/Instagram)

Actor Fardeen Khan, who made his comeback with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi recently, said that he deeply regrets stepping away from the industry even as film offers kept coming to him till about a decade ago. The actor said that he shifted base from Mumbai and just “took off,” leaving many filmmakers to assume that he isn’t interested in acting anymore. Fardeen, who actively worked in films in 2000s, had his last release in 2010, with Dulha Mil Gaya. After 14 years, he returned with Heeramandi, in which he has a supporting role.

“I kind of just completely took off. I used to come back to Mumbai every few months, but I pretty much just took off,” Fardeen Khan recalled as he spoke to Pinkvilla about his sabbatical. “Yes, there were offers at the time, all the way till 2014-15, but after that, people assumed that I’ve moved out of the country. That’s a perception I’m still trying to change. I live in India, I’m based out of here now, this is home. But that was the perception before, and rightly so because I wasn’t around.

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“There were offers up to a certain point, but then I put on a lot of weight and that was a signal to people that, ‘Hey, he’s obviously not interested.’ Most certainly I regret taking such a long break of 12 years. It’s a big, big regret. It wasn’t planned but I wish the gap was shorter, by at least 6-7 years. I needed some time off after I lost my father and for my personal reasons also.”

The actor said that when he returned to India for good, he reached out to everyone he’d previously worked with, and attempted to restart his career. All this while, however, Fardeen Khan remained in constant touch with Salman Khan, with whom he had worked in No Entry. “Sanjay Gupta offered me a film in our second meeting! It was scary when I came back, I felt like a newcomer all over again. It feels good that people haven’t forgotten you, people still want to see your work. Salman I’ve been in touch with pretty much throughout. I met Mukesh Chhabra also. I’m trying to convince people now that I’m here and ready to work,” he added.

After Heeramandi, Fardeen will be next seen in the comedy Khel Khel Mein, headlined by Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu, among others. The film has booked the Independence Day weekend for its grand theatrical release. Apart from this, he will also be seen in Visfot, backed by Sanjay Gupta and T-Series. The horror drama is the official Hindi adaptation of the 2012 Venezuelan movie Rock, Paper and Scissors and is awaiting a release date.

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