Rajniesh Duggall, a former Mr. India title holder, made his Bollywood debut with Mahesh Bhatt’s 2008 horror thriller, 1920. However, his journey in the Hindi film industry was not without its challenges. In a recent interview, he shared how his career was delayed by three years, a setback he faced due to the decision of the globally renowned actress and former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra.
While conversing with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube talk show, Rajniesh shared that he was the first choice for Girish Dhamija’s 2005 movie, Yakeen. He had even started working on the film and even had planned to move to the city of dreams, Mumbai. Sharing that the director himself trained the actor, Rajniesh said:
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“I was the first choice for Yakeen, I was signed for the film. In fact, I was working on it. When I met director Girish Dhamija, he asked me, ‘When can you move to Mumbai?’ I was already planning to move to Mumbai. So, I got training from Girish ji himself; he is an alumnus of the National School of Drama and a dialect coach.”
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Further, in the conversation, Rajniesh mentioned that he had signed a three-film deal with the same production company and was even roped in for a double role in the film opposite Priyanka Chopra. He disclosed that the producers took care of him and had arranged a penthouse and chauffeur-driven car for him as well. In his words:
“They signed a three-film deal with me. I had a double role in the film with Priyanka as the lead. They put me in a penthouse at Juhu 10th Road. They gave me a car and a driver. One call and a person would bring food to my flat. I was going to classes and fully preparing. I prepared for 2-2.5 months. I left brand endorsements of Siyaram, Vimal, and other companies to concentrate on the film.”
However, things changed when he received a call from the film’s producer, Sujit Kumar Singh, asking the actor to visit him in the night. The producer then informed Rajneesh that Priyanka, being an overnight big star, had refused to work with a newcomer like him. Recalling his first reaction to his news, Rajneesh added:
“Suddenly, the producer, Sujit Kumar Singh, called me to his office at night. He told me that Priyanka has become a big star in the time span since they had signed me and they had paid her for the bulk deal, now she is saying ‘I will not work with a newcomer.’ My first reaction was that change the girl because I only saw them putting money on me. I didn’t understand the movie business at that time.”
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In the same interview, Rajniesh said that while the producers claimed that Priyanka Chopra wanted him out of the film, he felt that managers and people around her could be responsible for this incident. The actor further added that he doesn’t blame Priyanka for what happened but expected her to take a stand for him. In his words:
“They said Priyanka wanted that, but I feel it could have been the managers or the people around her. I don’t blame her, but she was aware that I was doing the film. She could have said, ‘No, he will do it.'”
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Check out the full interview here.
What do you think of Rajniesh Duggall’s revelations?
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