'I was offered Sholay, eventually, the role went to someone else'

Yesteryear actor Ranjeet opens up on his villainous characters, how he was thrown out of his house for playing a villain on-screen, and also spoke about the existence of Nepotism back then.

Ranjeet is one of the most successful and memorable villains of Hindi Cinema. He was at his peak in the 70s and 80s and the lecherous characters he portrayed on the screen only magnified his menace.

In an interview with The Indian Express, he spoke about playing those characters on the celluloid, being thrown out of his house for doing so, and the existence of Nepotism even back in the 70s. First talking about his villainous persona, Ranjeet said, "When I was not married, the image never bothered me. However, back then, people would believe that you are what you play. I remember I used to go to Delhi to visit my daughter on weekends. We would go to restaurants."

He then went on to make a surprising revelation and said, "When I did my first grey character in Sharmeelee, I was thrown out of my house. I come from a very orthodox family. My parents thought I got into some stupid profession where I hurt girls and abuse them. While I played this crude man on screen, after the shot, we all used to make fun of it."

The debate around Nepotism has nearly exploded on social media over the last few weeks and a lot of television and Hindi film actors have been talking about it and how Bollywood functions. When asked about the existence of Nepotism back in his early days of acting, Ranjeet revealed some facts.

He said, "Nepotism was always there, so was the rivalry. I remember Parveen Babi was supposed to star in Silsila, but the producer thought Jaya Bachchan would look better. I remember Danny was offered Sholay, but because he was busy, I was offered the role, but I refused because he was my good friend. Eventually, the role went to someone else. So, such things happen. I was in no group, but I had a good bond. I earned love and affection from everyone."

Ranjeet became a lot more popular figure after people saw him unapologetically caricaturing his iconic lech in Housefull 2 and Housefull 4. He has been a part of Hindi Cinema for more than four decades!

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