New Delhi:
Randeep Hooda shared screen space with Alia Bhatt in Imtiaz Ali’s Highway. The film was a success at the box office.
While Highway became a turning point in Alia’s budding career, Randeep, who played the role of a villain, was left out of the promotional campaign of the film.
In a recent interview with Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, Randeep Hooda opened up about his exclusion from Highway promotions.
The actor said, “I felt bad. If I would have gotten support at that time, it would have helped my career.
Randeep also questioned Ranbir Kapoor’s involvement in Highway‘s promotions, given that he had no part in the making of the film.
The actor said, “Maine bhi voh dekha aur mujhe bhi samajh nahi aaya Ranbir Kapoor ka iss picture se kya lena dena hai. (Even I saw it and didn’t understand what Ranbir Kapoor had to do with the film).”
Acknowledging Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor’s relationship, he added, “Maybe that’s where their love story began. I offer them my best wishes. If this film brought them together, I’m truly happy for them.”
Randeep Hooda shared that the marketing strategy of Highway seemed to revolve solely around Alia Bhatt. “Maybe in the last day or two, the film wasn’t picking up momentum, so they included me,” the actor said.
He added, “From the beginning, the plan was to centre the film around Alia. After all, the movie dealt with female exploitation. But once audiences saw it, they realised that without Mahabir Bhati (his character), the film wouldn’t have had the same impact.”
Released in 2014, Highway projected the ideas of bondage and freedom in a fresh light. Alia Bhatt played a Delhi girl from a rich household, who gets abducted by Randeep Hooda, a Haryanvi truck driver in the film.
On the work front, Randeep Hooda’s recent release Jaat is currently running in theatres. The film features Sunny Deol in the lead role.
Alia Bhatt, on the other hand, will be seen in YRF’s Alpha and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War.
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