Abhishek Banerjee on being fired from 'Agneepath': 'We were casting Anurag Kashyap-type actors'

Abhishek Banerjee Pic/Instagram

Seasoned actor and casting director Abhishek Banerjee, who had a dual release this Independence Day with ‘Stree 2' and ‘Vedaa', recalled the time Karan Johar's Dharma Productions fired him for casting Anurag Kashyap-type actors. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, he shared what went down.

Abhishek said, "We were removed from Agneepath. We were doing the casting for Agneepath, but then Jogi Bhai came in. Why were we removed? Because they didn't like the casting. Karan Sir didn't like it. We were bringing in actors who were more like Anurag Kashyap's style, which they didn't like. So, they said, ‘Get out of our film!' We thought our careers were ruined, finished! We were out of Dharma Productions, and it was over! But thankfully, we were saved."

Released in 2012 'Agneepath' is a special film as Hrithik was seen getting into Amitabh Bachchan's shoes because the movie was inspired by his 1990 release of the same name.

Helmed by Karan Malhotra and produced by Karan Johar the film also starred late actors Om Puri, and Rishi Kapoor in prominent roles and was declared a big hit.

'Agneepath' continues to be among the audience's favourite list. The film also starred Priyanka Chopra, Rishi Kapoor, and Sanjay Dutt in pivotal roles.

Banerjee, who is a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan expressed his love for the legendary during an episode of 'Aapka Apna Zakir', hosted by standup comedian and actor Zakir Khan.

He shared, "We all are such big fans of Mr Bachchan. I remember once my uncle's wedding came to a standstill as the entire family eagerly awaited his iconic dialogue from the movie Agneepath -- 'Vijay Deenanath Chauhan' on TV. Once he delivered it, the celebration resumed."

Talking about Abhishek, he started his career with theatre work in New Delhi. He made his debut with ‘Rang De Basanti', starring Aamir Khan. He also worked in Knock Out as a casting director.

As a casting director, she has worked in movies such as ‘The Dirty Picture', ‘No One Killed Jessica', ‘Dear Dad', ‘Do Lafzon Ki Kahani', ‘Rock On 2', ‘Ok Jaanu', ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha', ‘Secret Superstar' and ‘Ajji'.

He has also acted in films such as ‘Phillauri', ‘Ajji', ‘Stree', ‘Bhediya', ‘Bala', ‘Arjun Patiala' and ‘Dream Girl'. He went on to showcase his prowess in the digital space with shows including ‘Mirzapur', ‘Typewriter' and ‘Pataal Lok'.

(With inputs from Agencies)