‘Bollywood has fragile glass egos, insecurities’: Randeep Hooda on being termed difficult

“I don’t think I have had any disrespectful exchange with a director on any creative thing ever, except once when I was doing an anthology film for the Factory (Ram Gopal Varma’s production house), where me and Ramu also had a fallout. Apart from that, there hasn’t been,” he said.

Randeep Hooda on Haryana roots and speaking bluntly

The actor admitted, however, that he later realised how quickly stories travel on film sets, especially through assistant directors.

“I did not realise that the mouthpiece of the chatter that goes on in movies comes from assistant directors. So when you’re getting ready and something is not right — maybe the look isn’t right or you’re not getting something correct before going to the set — and there’s an assistant director knocking every minute saying, ‘Sir, ready?’ after you’ve already told them to give you five minutes, then obviously the Jat in you comes out,” he said with a laugh.

Randeep added that while there may have been moments of disagreement with filmmakers, he always respected the director’s process and often tried multiple approaches during scenes.

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“I’ve worked in so many movies and repeatedly with the same directors, so I don’t know where that reputation came from. Most of my homework I do before the shoot, so I hardly had many conversations on set. In the beginning, I was also a bit of a novice and there may have been points where I disagreed with directors, but I’ve always done their take first and then my take as well.”

‘The film industry is full of fragile egos’

According to the actor, his reserved nature and unwillingness to socialise extensively within the industry may have also contributed to the rumours around him.

“I think it was blown out of proportion. Also, because I was not mixing around with people too much, those Chinese whispers grew beyond their merit. The film industry is full of fragile glass egos and insecurities. I was not diplomatic. Being from Haryana, you could say, ‘Arrey, kya bakwas scene likha hai yaar,’ but I’m talking to the director and he knows where I’m coming from. Whereas now, I would say, ‘Hey brother, listen, it’s all great, but I’m not comfortable doing this.’ But I still mean the same thing.”

The actor said his straightforward personality was often mistaken for aggression.

“Being from Haryana, being a Jat boy, the way we talk — when my friends and I are speaking, people often ask, ‘What happened? Are you fighting?’ and I’d say no, we’re not fighting. I think that was something I suffered because of. I was too blunt, too in-your-face, and I meant what I said and said what I meant, which is not the way the film industry works with its fragility.”

Randeep Hooda on fallout with Ram Gopal Varma

Randeep also opened up about his fallout with Ram Gopal Varma and revealed that the two eventually reconciled over time.

“We sorted it out many times. He has offered me many roles since then, but I didn’t want to be a part of them because I also felt there was a volume of work that was diluting the creative energy Ramuji was putting into his films.”

The actor said that during that phase of his life, he had also developed a deep interest in horse riding and show jumping, which often took priority over films.

“That was also the time when I bought my first horse and started competing as a show jumper. There were many instances when national show jumping championships would happen at the same time as a movie shoot, and I would choose to go ride horses instead.”

However, Randeep admitted that reality eventually caught up with him.

“Over a period of time, you quickly realise that you have to do something to pay for the horses. So you come back with your tail between your legs and say, ‘No, no, I’ll do this, I’ll do that.’”

Despite their differences in the past, the actor clarified that he now shares a warm friendship with Ram Gopal Varma.

“But yeah, Ramu and I are good friends now and have been for many years. Those fallouts were very temporary. All things are very temporary in the film business.”

On the work front, the second season of Inspector Avinash, starring Randeep Hooda, released earlier this month and is currently streaming on JioHotstar.