"I Have Deep Respect For Dharma and Karan Johar"- Abhishek Banerjee

Abhishek Banerjee releases a statement addressing a miscommunication that has caused a stir between Dharma Productions and his casting agency, which he co-owns with his business partner and friend, Anmol Ahuja.

Abhishek Banerjee recently made headlines for his comments over Dharma Productions and Karan Johar. The actor has been busy promoting two of his recent releases, Stree 2 and Vedaa. During an interview, he recalled the incident about Agneepath's casting, which has gone viral all over the internet. Now, Abhishek has released an official statement on this matter to clarify all the rumours. Read it below:

In public interest !! pic.twitter.com/tPEOOgHE2D

— Abhishek Banerjee (@nowitsabhi) August 19, 2024

This week I have been blessed 🙏 with two releases and one controversy. I've been reading and hearing a lot of reports about Dharma Productions supposedly firing my company, Casting Bay, during the casting process of Agneepath (2012). Unfortunately, this situation has been completely misrepresented as accusatory on our part. In a podcast/interview, I had stated the reason for our dismissal, acknowledging that we were unable to align with the vision of director Karan Malhotra for Agneepath. I also emphasized that Anmol and I were quite young at the time, around 20 to 23 years old, with little to no experience in casting for a major commercial film, which perhaps led to us misinterpreting Mr. Malhotra's requirements for the project.

I have not accused or suggested any wrongdoing on the part of Dharma Productions. In fact, I have deep respect for Dharma Productions and Karan Johar. I never mentioned Karan Johar in relation to our dismissal, yet some reports falsely claim that he was the one who fired us. The decision was actually made by Mr. Malhotra's team, and I accepted our mistakes. I shared this story to encourage young people that even if you fail or hit a roadblock, you can always bounce back, as we did. We went on to work on several projects with Dharma, starting with Ok Jaanu, Student of the Year 2, Kalank and recent releases like - Kill and Gyarah Gyarah. Additionally, Dharma even cast me as an actor in Ajeeb Daastaans.

Dharma has always been very good to me and to my company, Casting Bay. It is a relationship we value and nurture.

PS: I am not putting this out for the hamper 😁

Regards,

Abhishek Banerjee