Actor Randeep Hooda recently made his directorial debut with the recently released film ‘Swatantra Veer Savarkar’, which fared decently at the box office but did not emerge as a hit. During a chat with Siddharth Kannan, he mentioned how the Bollywood industry didn’t support his latest film, but admitted that it is more like give and take since he also doesn’t tweet in support of others’ films either.

“What support am I even supposed to ask for? Everybody’s busy with their own work. The industry isn’t some animal. It’s a large entity. I’m also a part of it. A lot of people guided me on this project, a lot of my old directors. So, I don’t understand what help I’m supposed to ask for. Am I supposed to ask for money? I would love for people to watch my movie, and to not get drowned by the political overtones that it has been assigned,” he said. 

He further mentioned how he didn’t expect anybody from the industry to support him, considering no Bollywood actor or producer celebrated him when he made his Hollywood debut with big-budget Netflix film ‘Extraction’, starring Chris Hemsworth and backed by ‘Avengers: Endgame’ directors Joe and Anthony Russo. 

“I must’ve had one of the meatiest roles in history (for an Indian in Hollywood), but nobody said anything. But yes, sometimes a pat on the back is a good thing,” Randeep said while acknowledging that the perception that he’s ‘arrogant’ might have worked against him.

Interestingly, the actor has worked with major producers such as Karan Johar and Mahesh Bhatt in the past. But he does not approach people for work, and neither is he attached himself to any ‘camps’ in Bollywood. He added, “I’ve rarely approached people for work, and when I have, I’ve sounded like a fraud to myself.” Stating how he wanted to explore different experiences, Randeep said, “I’ve worked with them all. Yash Raj, Karan Johar, the Bhatts, Sajid Nadiadwala… Only Excel I haven’t worked with yet.”

Stating how he used to go to Bollywood parties to enjoy, but he realised only later that this is not why you go to these parties. “I went to a party, not to make connections. Sometimes I would party a little too much. I wish I knew how to play the game when I was younger. But it doesn’t come naturally to me,” he signed off.

‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’ has been produced by Zee Studios, Anand Pandit, Sandeep Singh, Randeep Hooda, & Yogesh Rahar, and co-produced by Roopa Pandit, Sam Khan, Anwar Ali and Panchali Chakraborty.