In a recent interview, Arshad Warsi had spoken about his working experience on Hulchul (2004) with filmmaker Priyadarshan, describing the overall experience as "bad."  Now Priyadarshan has reacted to Arshad Warsi’s remarks.

In a conversation with Mid-day, Priyadarshan said, “I am very upset and deeply hurt by these accusations from Arshad. He had no reason to complain,” recalling that Arshad’s performance in Hulchul was loved and appreciated by audience. He also noted that Arshad had called him after Hulchul’s release and had said, “Priyan sir, I never thought that I would get this kind of appreciation.”

“I could be wrong and maybe it has been misinterpreted, but if he has said it, I am shocked,” added Priyadarshan. 

Earlier, speaking to The Lallantop, Arshad had said how Neeraj Vora had pitched the Hulchul role to him as a "parallel lead" and how Arshad was disappointed to see the role didn’t pan out anywhere close to that brief.  Arshad had said in the interview. He stated, "Hulchul was a bad experience. It was a mess. But since I had given my commitment, I finished the project somehow."

However, Arshad also stated that Priyadarshan too possibly didn't know about the brief given to him, and it wouldn't be right to put him at fault.

Hulchul, which starred Kareena Kapoor Khan and Akshaye Khanna in lead roles, was the first and last collaboration between Arshad and Priyadarshan. However, Arshad and Akshaye did work together later in the 2009 film Shortkut - The Con Is On. 

When it comes to other projects, Priyadarshan is currently busy with the post-production work for Haiwaan, which reunites Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan after 18 years. Meanwhile, besides making a special appearance in The Ba***ds of Bollywood, Arshad also headlined films like Bhagwat: Chapter One Rakshas and Jolly LLB 3 in 2025.