Rajeev Khandelwal says Sanjay Leela Bhansali ghosted him for ‘almost a year’ after signing him for a film: ‘Mera time waste ho raha hai…’

Rajeev Khandelwal said that he didn't get a proper response from Sanjay Leela Bhansali when he asked why Chenab Gandhi was being cancelled. The film was also supposed to star Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: July 26, 2024 04:25 PM IST

3 min read

Rajeev Khandelwal said that Sanjay Leela Bhansali signed him for a project that never took off.

Actor Rajeev Khandelwal looked back on being kept on the hook by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali for nearly a year, waiting for a film project that ultimately never materialised. He said that he was forbidden from taking up any other projects during this time, and was kept in the dark even as the movie fell apart. It was supposed to be directed by Vibhu Puri, with Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan also attached. In an interview, Rajeev said that he even shot for the poster with Vidya, and confessed that while he wasn’t hurt by the film’s cancellation, he expected more transparent communication.

Chatting with Siddharth Kannan, Rajeev said, “He signed me for a film, called Chenab Gandhi, and kept me around for nine months, almost a year. But the film never took off. Because I was bound by contract, I couldn’t do anything else either. As soon as this chapter ended, I did Sach Ka Saamna.” Rajeev then recounted what happened in detail. He said that he met with Bhansali, and told him that he has only one condition, that he is given a script the moment he is finalised for the role. He said that Vibhu Puri gave him a narration, and that he was moved by the story.

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“After Aamir, I wanted to do projects that had a life. If they didn’t work out, I moved on. The only problem I had was that I was being kept in the dark,” he said, and continued, “I moved on. There was no depression. There were no complaints whatsoever. I did feel that time waste ho raha hai mera, ek saal hogaya hai. But then, I was willing to invest that time, but this is a part of life. I know it sounds unreal when I say I wasn’t affected, but it’s true.”

Rajeev said that he has ‘no idea’ why the movie didn’t get made, but was told by Vibhu Puri, “Rajeev, move on. It’s not happening.” Asked if he reached out to Bhansali for an answer, or more clarity, he said with a wry smile, “I did ask, but I didn’t get a response.” Rajeev said that he knows Bhansali didn’t derail the project on purpose. “It’s not like he said that he will keep me around for a year and ruin my career. I’m sure he didn’t have a vested interest, it wasn’t deliberate. It could’ve been funding, or any other reason, but he didn’t have an answer. I told him, ‘This is a crucial time for me…'”

Rajeev recalled that Chenab Gandhi was going to be a huge project, and that Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan were also involved. “I do not attach any emotional importance to anything. I’m a very detached person,” he said. Bhansali was already a majorly admired director during this time, and he recently made his streaming debut with the epic series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. Rajeev, on the other hand, recently appeared in the streaming series Showtime.

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