'Paani' shelved over creative differences with Shekhar Kapur: Aditya Chopra
Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer planned film Paani was not made owing to creative differences with its director, Shekhar Kapoor, and not because of the late actor, filmmaker Aditya Chopra has told Mumbai Police. Chopra recorded his statement with the cops on Saturday in connection with Sushant's death case. The actor died by alleged suicide. He had been battling depression. Here's more on this.
After months of preparation, Paani, an ambitious project set to be helmed by Shekhar, was shelved after Chopra's Yash Raj Films (YRF) backed out from producing it. The movie, a science-fiction offering, was supposed to follow a dystopian premise in near future where the earth's water supply has run out and wars have erupted as a result of it.
Last month, Shekhar had revealed he and Sushant were deeply upset after the film was shelved. "When the film was shelved and he (Sushant) realized he was not doing the film, he cried a lot. I cried too," the director said, adding that the actor was quite immersed in his character from the movie and was working hard to prepare for it.
Earlier, soon after Sushant's demise, Shekhar had put out a cryptic tweet saying he knew the late actor was going through a tough time, adding that certain people had let him down. "I knew the story of the people that let you down so bad that you would weep on my shoulder... What happened to you was their Karma. Not yours," he had written.
Previously, the police had sought copies of Sushant's contract with YRF. Further, they also questioned two former senior employees of the production company, namely Ashish Singh and Ashish Patil. To recall, Sushant worked in two YRF films, viz. Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015). In fact, YRF casting director Shanoo Sharma was also called for interrogation by Bandra Police.
Notably, cops are actively probing a "professional rivalry" angle in the case. This was decided after allegations surfaced that the late actor faced a boycott from major production banners and he lost some of his films to other stars. In fact, a complaint was also filed against Chopra and other Bollywood bigwigs like Karan Johar in this regard. However, the plea was eventually dismissed.
As part of the ongoing investigation, the police has reportedly questioned 35 people. They include Sushant's family, business manager, friends Mahesh Shetty, Mukesh Chhabra, Siddharth Pitani, and publicist Rohini Iyer. Sushant's former co-star Sanjana Sanghi and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali were also interrogated. Separately, the cops also recovered some medications and prescriptions, meant for clinical depression, from the late actor's house.
Notably, countless fans, fellow celebrities, and politicians, including actor Shekhar Suman and Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy have been demanding a CBI probe into Sushant's death. Quite recently, Sushant's former girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty also urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to order a CBI inquiry into his death. However, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh has said there is no need for a CBI probe.
