Abhishek Banerjee issues clarification on dismissal from Agneepath casting: I have deep respect for Dharma Productions and Karan Johar

Actor Abhishek Banerjee, who was part of two releases last week Stree 2 and Vedaa, found himself in a soup recently. At a podcast, during the promotions of the films, he spoke about how his and his friend Anmol Ahuja’s company Casting Bay was dismissed from the 2012 film Agneepath because they couldn’t understand the director’s vision. The statement later got misreported by many publications, which stated that Karan Johar and his production house Dharma Productions, which backed Agneepath, had fired their agency. Clearing the air, Abhishek issued a statement on Monday, stating that he hasn’t accused Dharma and didn’t even mention Karan’s name during the podcast.

“This week I have been blessed with two releases and one controversy,” read Abhishek’s statement, which he shared on X. “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 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,” he concluded.