Randeep Hooda reveals he slipped into depression after his film 'Battle Of Saragarhi' was shelved

Randeep Hooda and Rajkumar Santoshi were collaborating on a period drama based on the Battle of Saragarhi. The actor even grew a beard for the film, learned Sikh martial arts, and gave almost three years of his life to the ambitious project, before it was shelved.

Reports say that Akshay Kumar’s Kesari, based on the same subject, was the reason. While speaking to Mashable India, Hooda spoke about the aftermath of the same and revealed, “I went through a big stage of depression. I even thought of leaving Extraction for Saragarhi and even left films for three years for Saragarhi.”

The actor shared details of how deeply this affected him. He said that his parents would not leave him alone. “I would bolt my room shut to stay away from everyone out of the fear that someone will cut my beard.”

The actor’s next project

On the occasion of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s 140th birth anniversary, the teaser of Randeep Hooda starrer Swatantrya Veer Savarkar was launched. The actor, who made his directorial debut with this biographical drama, lost 26 kgs to essay the character of the freedom fighter on the silver screen.

The actor went on a strict diet to play this legendary character as one of the producers Anand Pandit told E Times, “When he came to my office with Sandeep Singh, he was 86 kg. He was so involved in the character and to date that to essay it on screen. He said that he won’t leave any stone unturned. He had only 1 khajoor and 1 glass of milk for 4 months until the shooting got over.”

The producer revealed that earlier Mahesh Manjrekar was on board to direct the film but he had to step down due to date issues. “I suggested to Randeep that why doesn’t he do it himself because he is so much into the Veer Savarkar character from the word ‘Go’. Randeep has done a wonderful job. After the release of this film, I think a lot more people will know a lot more about Veer Savarkar,” said Pandit.

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