Imtiaz Ali’s 2014 film ‘Highway’ stirred a discourse around women’s safety and how sometimes they are not even safe in their own homes. The film gave Alia Bhatt her big breakthrough who starred opposite Randeep Hooda. During the film’s promotions, Hooda was visibly absent. On the other hand, Ranbir Kapoor created buzz by promoting the film with Bhatt and Ali. In a recent interview, Hooda finally opened up on his exclusion and questioned Kapoor’s role in the film.
Speaking with Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, Randeep Hooda broke his silence on ‘Highway’ promotions. On his exclusion, he said, “I felt bad. If I would have gotten support at that time, it would have helped my career.” When the interviewer, probed about Ranbir Kapoor’s involvement in the film’s promotions, Hooda revealed that even he was puzzled.
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). 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.”
Talking about the film, he acknowledged that the film centres on female exploitation. However, his character played a pivotal role in Bhatt’s character’s journey. “Maybe in the last day or two, the film wasn’t picking up momentum, so they included me. 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.”
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On the work front, Randeep Hooda recently starred in ‘Jaat’ in a menacing role against Sunny Deol. On the other hand, Alia Bhatt is working on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Love and War’ with Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal.