Rishi Kapoor shoots down buzz that he’s irked by Khan turning down a role he recommended him for
Upala KBR (DNA; October 1, 2015)
Actors rarely recommend other actors for roles. Rarer so, when said actor already has a son, who’s also an actor. Buzz is that Rishi Kapoor was upset with Imran Khan for turning down Wedding Pullav who he recommended for the role. Imran refused the role because he felt if it was a good role, why didn’t he suggest Ranbir do it.
Selfish motives
Rishi admits, “I did reccomend Imran’s name for Wedding Pullav. At that time, my good friend Rahul Rawail was supposed to be directing the film (Binod Pradhan is helming it now) and he had asked me to do a role in the film. It wasn’t a big role, but I agreed to do it. I asked about the film’s male lead, they told me they were still casting and I suggested Imran for it as he’s like my own son. Even Ranbir and Imran are good friends. I have worked with Nasir Hussain in his films and Mansoor and Nuzhat... they are all like my family. Also, I wanted to work with Imran so I suggested his name.”
Tough luck
But he denies being upset with Khan, “Imran didn’t even hear the script, he said he was sorry and he couldn’t do it. Maybe Imran was contractually bound (for Katti Batti) or because his film was bigger than ours. But it’s an actor’s prerogative to accept or refuse a film, so why should I be upset?”
Imran Clueless
Imran, who is currently in Germany on a road trip, says, “I think they contacted my manager Reshma Shetty, but the dates they wanted were overlapping with Katti Batti; so, the conversation never got off the ground or even reached me. This is the first I’m hearing about Rishi Kapoor’s involvement, or his displeasure. Considering it was over a year ago, I think he would have said something, particularly since he dropped by our set at RK Studio.”