Actor Priyanka Chopra alluded to being cornered by certain forces in Bollywood, which was one of the reasons why she chose to switch base to the United States and begin afresh abroad. Among the many controversies that hounded her during her rise in the Hindi film industry was her rumoured affair with Akshay Kumar. They worked together in the films Andaaz, Aitraaz, and Waqt: The Race Against Time in three successive years. They were also supposed to work together in the film Barsaat, and had even shot a song for it. Director Suneel Darshan said in a recent interview that the rumours of a relationship reached Twinkle Khanna, Akshay’s wife, that forced him to present director Suneel Darshan with a tough choice. He told his frequent creative collaborator that it was going to have to be either him or Priyanka, and Suneel went with Priyanka. None of the actors involved, however, ever commented on the controversy.
In an interview with journalist Vickey Lalwani, Suneel opened up about that chapter in his career, and said that it was one of the reasons he and Akshay drifted apart after working on seven films together. “One beautiful song was shot between Akshay and Priyanka before they broke off… When it was time to get back for the final schedule, during which the entire movie had to be made, I was called by Akshay to his set. Seldom was I called to his sets, so I was surprised. He informed me that there were some issues that were uncontrollable, and there were some repercussions on his personal life. He requested me to take a decision on how to move further. I can’t remember the exact words, but it was about having either him or Priyanka in the movie.”
Asked what made Akshay present him with this choice, Suneel said, “It’s not about him not wanting to work with Priyanka Chopra. Circumstances had reached a point… The public, the media did mention a relationship, which the wife got to know of. But suddenly, after making me wait for 18 months, to say that I can’t be a part of the film, I was shocked… He did want to compensate by saying he’d do the next film with me, but I just thought it was unbelievable, coming from Akshay.”
In a previous interview, Suneel suggested that Twinkle actually ‘left’ Akshay after discovering his rumoured affair. “Kuch blunder aise ho chuke thay (He did some blunders). Some rumours about Priyanka Chopra and Akshay Kumar started doing the rounds and Twinkle had left his home. As an actor you have to be responsible. If your wife has been an actress, she knows everything about the industry and she has also worked with all the big stars. She knew everything,” he said in an interview with Friday Talkies.
Suneel said that Akshay had basically been written off by the industry after delivering a string of flops, which was when he approached him for work. They agreed to do Jaanwar together, and subsequently, Akshay’s career was reignited. Suneel claimed that Akshay promised to do 100 films with him, but their streak came to an end at seven. He eventually signed Bobby Deol for Barsaat, but Priyanka stayed on because she wasn’t the one who put the ‘unethical’ condition on him. They worked together on one more film, but Suneel said that he realised that the working chemistry had fizzled out by then. “I realised it was time up,” he said, mentioning that he hasn’t met Akshay in two decades.
