Gulshan Grover reveals he lost National Award-winning film Zakhm with his ‘favorite’ Mahesh Bhatt due to Hera Pheri; here's how

Veteran actor Gulshan Grover, known for portraying the memorable antagonist Kabira in Priyadarshan’s 2000 classic Hera Pheri, recently shared an interesting anecdote. In a recent interview, he revealed that a scheduling conflict cost him a role in his favorite director, Mahesh Bhatt’s, critically acclaimed, National Award-winning film Zakhm, which eventually went to Saurabh Shukla.

Recalling how he missed out on a role in Zakhm, which starred Ajay Devgn in the lead role, Gulshan Grover shared in a conversation with SCREEN that his commitment to Hera Pheri ultimately led to the loss of the opportunity.

He explained that he had allocated his schedule to shoot for Hera Pheri from 7 AM to 12 PM, after which he was supposed to join Mahesh Bhatt at 1 PM to portray the role of a Sardar, a part that eventually went to Saurabh Shukla.

Grover mentioned that had he taken on the role in Zakhm, it would have been a more significant opportunity for him. However, upon arriving at the set, he was informed that the shoot wouldn’t commence before 12 PM, which conflicted with his prior commitment.

The delay was due to the requirement of natural sunlight at a specific angle on the Standard Mill set, which the filmmakers intended to use for key scenes.

Expressing his dilemma, he remarked that while the production team was waiting for the perfect sunbeam, he was under the weight of his own professional commitments. Since the sun didn’t reach the desired position before 12 PM, the team insisted that he couldn’t leave at that time daily, leading to his eventual exit from the project.

Gulshan Grover revealed that it was filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt who ultimately advised him to prioritize Hera Pheri over Zakhm. He shared that there were ongoing discussions between producers, production managers, and Bhatt regarding the scheduling conflict.

Seeking guidance, Grover approached the filmmaker, whom he considers a godfather and often turns to for personal and professional advice. Mahesh Bhatt attempted to rearrange the shoot dates but was unsuccessful, forcing Grover to leave Zakhm and commit to filming the climax of Hera Pheri over a span of ten days.

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