Shekhar Kapur claims he was ‘fired’ from Bobby Deol’s Barsaat because he ‘didn’t understand Dharmendra’s ideas’: ‘I didn’t walk out’

Back in the 1990s, debut of a nepokid was seen as the birth of a new star so when Dharmendra’s younger son, Bobby Deol, was supposed to make his debut in the movies, his production house pulled all the stops to make it happen in a grand fashion. His debut, Barsaat, was supposed to be directed by Shekhar Kapur, who had given hits like Mr India and Masoom in the past. Twinkle Khanna, the daughter of superstars Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, was his co-star here. But, Shekhar left the film and Rajkumar Santoshi, who had given many hits with Sunny Deol stepped in after the film was delayed for a few years. Now, Shekhar has claimed that he didn’t leave, but was fired from the project.

“I never walked out, I have been thrown out of films. Barsaat was an idea that was being developed and I think I wasn’t quite understanding Dharam ji’s (Dharmendra) ideas,” Shekhar told Filmfare. “Then Sunny was in London and he called the next guy who took over, Rajkumar Santoshi. 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.”

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Shekhar Kapur’s statement brings clarity to a story that has long been shrouded in speculation. For years, rumours persisted that he had filmed some scenes with Bobby Deol before departing the film midway, an account Bobby himself confirmed in 2023. Speaking at the Jagran Film Festival, Bobby recalled, “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.”

Even in lighter moments, the subject has come up. Last year on The Great Indian Kapil Show, when host Kapil Sharma asked Bobby whether launching his career under the shadow of his legendary father Dharmendra and brother Sunny Deol was intimidating, Bobby joked, “Maybe that’s why Shekhar ran away. Shekhar Kapur. He was scared. But then Raj directed the film. But I never thought I was under pressure.” Despite the behind-the-scenes shakeups and delays, Barsaat went on to become a commercial success.