When Sushant Singh Rajput bagged his first Yash Raj film Shuddh Desi Romance, the banner was eager to sign the actor for two more projects. Which it did.
Choices, choices!
Rajput’s next film after SDR was YRF’s Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!, that had him in the titular role. All was well and his third film with the banner was supposed to be Paani directed by Shekhar Kapur. In fact, Sushant opted out of his Kai Po Che director Abhishek Kapoor’s next, Fitoor, to be a part of Paani.
However, the twist in the tale is that YRF has backed out. They are no longer producing the film. And Shekhar is left in the lurch with his ambitious project. Sources say that he is now looking for an international producer to back his film.
The long wait
Shekhar, who had been waiting three years for the film to roll (it was in 2012 that YRF tied up with the director), it must be a huge setback. After all, he put his career on pause for three years and now, it seems like a waste. As it is, the director is known to invest a long time in one film and the fact that it has again hit a roadblock, can’t be easy on him, especially when he waited, trusting Aditya Chopra.
In limbo
But it’s Sushant, who has more reason to feel betrayed by the Chopra scion. First, he let go of Fitoor because his dates were clashing with Paani. Then he was approached for Ram-Leela before Ranveer Singh, but couldn’t take it up because of the YRF contract.
The last straw
However, it was losing Befikre to Ranveer that got his goat. Says an insider, “Adi had promised Sushant Befikre and then gave it to Ranveer without informing the SDR actor. This upset him and he has decided not to associate with YRF anymore.”
A spokesperson for YRF said, “Sushant is no longer a part of our talent team. We wish him all the best in future endeavours.”
