Rajkumar Santoshi accuses Karan Johar of playing ‘tricks’ over Kesari; says, “They knew that they would make a film quickly and release it, so our business would not work”
Filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi has spoken about his shelved film based on the Battle of Saragarhi and alleged that Karan Johar and Akshay Kumar’s Kesari affected the prospects of his project. Santoshi claimed that his film, which featured Randeep Hooda in the lead, was already being made when Kesari was announced and eventually released on the same historical subject. Talking about his vision for the project, Santoshi said he wanted to make an authentic and realistic film. “We wanted to make an honest and real film. We had an audition, real Sardars. The people who had not touched the blood had auditioned them. We had them ready. We had a shoot in the 20 days, in Ganga Nagar, in Rajasthan.” Santoshi also praised Randeep Hooda for his dedication to the role and his transformation for the film. He said, “Randeep Hooda is a great actor, a great man. He had completely become a Sardar after growing a beard.” The filmmaker then addressed the making of Kesari, which starred Akshay Kumar and was ...