Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav is currently gearing up for the release of his upcoming film, Bhooth Bangla. In a recent conversation with Zoom, the actor revealed whether he had ever regretted rejecting a role in a film and recalled how a misunderstanding led to him losing out on a role in Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om.
Rajpal Yadav recalls how he missed opportunity to work in Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om
Rajpal revealed that he was initially supposed to play Billu Barber in Priyadarshan’s film. However, the role was later played by Irrfan Khan. He recalled how he realised he had unknowingly “upset” Shah Rukh Khan after allegedly turning down a role in Om Shanti Om. Rajpal shared that he learnt about the misunderstanding while he was on the set of Billu Barber.
He said, “Billu Barber ka pura production dekhte the Juhi Chalwa ke brother. Voh shaam ko bethe the hum toh mujhe gale mile aur bole bhai (SRK) se mil lena. Bhai aapko bahut pyaar karte hain. Jab hum Kal Ho Naa Ho main kaam kiya, toh Shah Rukh bhai ne bola tha kabhi ek lamba, koi badiya track karenge kyunki ek scene main itna maza aaya. Maine kaha main toh dupehr main hi mila tha, Unhone kaha thoda kuch confusion hai. Toh maine kaha kya? Bole voh role likhwaya tha unhone aapke liye aur voh aapne mana kardiya keh ke time nahi hai (The entire production of Billu Barber was being handled by Juhi Chawla’s brother. One evening, he met me, hugged me, and said, ‘You should meet bhai. He loves you a lot. When we had worked together in Kal Ho Naa Ho, Shah Rukh Khan had told me that someday we would do a longer, substantial track together because he had enjoyed doing that one scene with me so much. I said I had met him only that afternoon. Then he said there seemed to be some confusion. I asked what happened. He told me that he had specifically asked for a role to be written for me, but apparently I had declined it saying I did not have the time).”
Rajpal recalled that he immediately called his manager to find out if anything like that had happened. He said, “Unhe bhi pata nahi tha. aur mujhe bhi nahi pata tha. Pata laga ki vahan pe kisi ne bitching karke aur Om Shanti Om ke liye meri tasveer dusri pesh kardi. Pata bhi nahi SRK ko aur mujhe bhi pata nahi. Toh yeh Bollywood hai ismein aise 10-20 kisse ho jaate hain. Aur main aur Shah Rukh Khan gale mile uske baad jaise koi lafda hi nahi (He did not know about it, and neither did I. It turned out that someone had been bi**hing there, and I was presented negatively in front of Shah Rukh bhai for Om Shanti Om. Neither Shah Rukh Khan knew about it, nor did I. So this is Bollywood, 10 to 20 such incidents happen here. After that, Shah Rukh Khan and I hugged it out as if there had never been any issue at all).”
About Om Shanti Om
Helmed by Farah Khan, the film marked Deepika Padukone’s Bollywood debut. The film, featuring Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role along with Kirron Kher, Arjun Rampal, and Shreyas Talpade in key roles, emerged as a blockbuster, collecting ₹148 crore worldwide against a budget of ₹38 crore.
About Bhooth Bangla
Helmed by Priyadarshan, Bhooth Bangla also stars Akshay Kumar, Wamiqa Gabbi, Tabu, and Paresh Rawal in key roles. The horror-comedy marks Priyadarshan and Akshay’s reunion after over a decade. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on April 17, with paid previews beginning from April 16, 9 pm onwards.
