Bollywood’s big walkout: When stars leave films midway

Industry insiders explain how a film is affected when lead actors exit midway.

The past few months have been abuzz with news about actors quitting films they were known to have signed. While actor Sushant Singh Rajput walked out of Mohit Suri’s Half Girlfriend, Priyanka Chopra will reportedly not be a part of Reema Kagti’s Mr Chaalu and Alia Bhatt quit Homi Adajania’s Raabta a few months back. Kareena Kapoor Khan also walked out of Raj Kumar Gupta’s film, Section 84.

Priyanka Chopra is riding high on Quantico's success. Her next film Bajirao Mastani will release on December 18.(Hindustan Times)

Filmmaker Shashanka Ghosh, who will be directing Battle For Bittora, which was in the news for Pakistani actor Fawad Khan’s exit sometime back, says that the film is affected in many ways when an actor leaves. “I feel that an actor walking out of a film midway affects the film tremendously. You have to be very responsible when you take on a film. It is disastrous even when an actor leaves one or two months after taking on a film,” he says.

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There were reports that Fawad Khan quit Battle For Bittora as he was uncomfortable with the idea of doing intimate scenes which the script demanded. (Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Talking about Fawad, Ghosh clarifies that he is still on board. “There was this news about Fawad leaving as he had some issues with the script. But we are reworking the script.”

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Kareena Kapoor Khan was last seen in Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan. She reacts to a question during the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in Delhi on December 4, 2015. (Hindustan Times)

Sushant left Suri’s film as he did not have the time to shoot for it. “It’s unfortunate. I was excited about working with Ekta (Kapoor) again but the dates didn’t work out. The team wanted the same dates as that of Dinno’s film (Dinesh Vijan’s untitled film) which I will be doing next. I had committed the dates (for the film) long back and hence, had no option but to pull out of the project,” he was quoted as saying. However, Sushant seemed surprised when Alia quit Adajania’s Raabta, where the two were to work together. “It’s funny how people try to sabotage other’s project 4seemingly personal gains (sic),” he had tweeted, sparking rumours that the tweet was about Alia.

Though Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film Byomkesh Bakshy didn’t work on the box office, the film won critical acclaim. A still from the film. (Hindustan Times)

However, trade analyst Atul Mohan says that news of actors leaving the film in a way helps create awareness about it. “I think it adds to the buzz around the film. Thanks to the media, these constant updates about the film help fans keep track,” he says. Talking about the financial damages, Mohan adds, “The financial damages are minimal because an actor usually leaves a project before the shoot begins,” he says.

QUICK EXITS

1. Sushant Singh Rajput walked out of Mohit Suri’s Half Girlfriend

2. Priyanka Chopra will reportedly not be a part of Reema Kagti’s Mr Chaalu

3. Alia Bhatt quit Homi Adajania’s Raabta

4. Kareena Kapoor Khan also walked out of Raj Kumar Gupta’s film, Section 84