Randeep Hooda says makers of Akshay Kumar's Kesari acted in bad taste while Battle of Saragarhi was still underway: 'Bahut hi depression ho gaya tha'

Randeep Hooda, who is currently seen in Jaat opposite Sunny Deol, recently opened up about one of the biggest regrets of his career, the ambitious yet unfinished project Battle of Saragarhi. In a conversation with journalist Shubhankar Mishra, Randeep shared how deeply involved he was in the film, to the point where he turned down other big opportunities and committed three years of his life to the role.

Makers of Kesari acted in bad taste

The actor revealed that his film had started production before Kesari (2019), which starred Akshay Kumar. “Uske baad Kesari bani thi. Uske doran hi shuru kar di thi which was in bad taste...” he said, implying that it felt disrespectful for another version to move forward while his was already being made.

He added that nearly 30 to 40 percent of Battle of Saragarhi had already been filmed when it was abruptly shelved. Hooda lamented the reasons behind it, saying, “Woh picture ki shooting bhi hui. Woh lalchi logon ke lalach ki vajah se nahi bani. Usme main akela hi Sikh tha. Baki koi Sikh nahin tha.”

Wanted to represent the Sikh community with authenticity and respect

Randeep expressed that he was committed to portraying his Sikh character with authenticity. He wanted to move away from the superficial portrayals that had been seen in previous films. Speaking about his approach, he said that he had taken an oath in front of the Guru Granth Sahib and that the film “bahut Sikh religion pe aur Sikh bhavano pe dhala tha.”

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Randeep even let go of a role in the sequel to Extraction to remain available for Battle of Saragarhi. “Maine kasam kahi thi Guru Granth Sahib ke samne...” he said, explaining his spiritual and emotional investment in the film.

But when the project came to a halt, the disappointment hit hard. “Bahut hi depression ho gaya tha,” Randeep admitted, calling it one of the most emotionally draining phases of his career.

Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, Battle of Saragarhi was supposed to feature Randeep as Havildar Ishar Singh. While the film never saw the light of day, Akshay Kumar went on to play the same character in Anurag Singh’s Kesari, which was a commercial success.

Meanwhile now, 'Kesari 2' is set for release. It also stars Ananya Panday and R Madhavan apart from Akshay Kumar.