Rajniesh Duggall Was Kicked Out Of A Film Because Priyanka Chopra Said 'I Will Not Work With A Newcomer'
Discover how Rajneesh Duggal lost his debut film role in Yakeen due to Priyanka Chopra's refusal to work with a newcomer. Despite his preparation and dedication, Duggal was replaced by Arjun Rampal at the last moment in the Vikram Bhatt directorial.
Getting replaced in films is indeed a common occurrence in Bollywood. This can happen for a variety of reasons, ranging from creative differences to scheduling conflicts, and sometimes because of nepotism or an actor's preference. This is apparently what happened with Rajniesh Duggall who could have made his debut alongside Priyanka Chopra, but was kicked out of the film because the actress didn't want to work with a newcomer. This happened at the last moment.
Priyanka rejected newcomer, so Rajniesh Duggal was dropped from Yakeen
In an interview with Siddharth Kanan, Rajniesh Duggall revealed his debut movie was supposed to be Yakeen, the 2005 romantic mystery thriller. "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."
Duggall had already started to prepare for the film. He was working hard. "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," he added.
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Priyanka Chopra said, 'I will not work with a newcomer'
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However, suddenly the makers changed their mind and he was replaced in the film with Arjun Rampal. "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 movie business at that time... 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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The movie also starred Kim Sharma, Sudhanshu Pandey and Saurabh Shukla in supporting roles. Meanwhile, Rajniesh Duggall later made his debut in 2008 movie 1920, a horror thriller directed by Vikram Bhatt. The film was well-received, and his performance was appreciated, establishing him as a promising newcomer in Bollywood.
After 1920, Rajniesh starred in several other films such as Phhir (2011), Dangerous Ishhq (2012), and Ek Paheli Leela (2015). While not all his films were major box-office hits, he managed to maintain a steady presence in the industry. Rajniesh Duggal gained substantial popularity through his participation in reality TV. He won the reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 5 (2014), which significantly boosted his public image. He also appeared in other TV shows, including Aarambh: Kahaani Devsena Ki and Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran.
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Garima Satija leads the Entertainment vertical of Indiatimes. A storyteller at heart who enjoys the thrill of writing, she is sometimes found daydreaming about living the lives of movie characters. Also, she hates talking about herself in the third person.
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