It was only a few days ago that the first look of director Mira Nair’s upcoming series A Suitable Boy was revealed. The still that featured Tabu and Ishaan Khatter seems interesting and generated curiosity among fans. Now, the show is again in the news but for a different reason.
Actor Randeep Hooda, who is playing Billy Irani — a suave Calcutta-based gentleman, has been asked to leave the show, according to a report in Mid Day. Hooda has previously worked with Nair in 2001 film Monsoon Wedding.
The report quoted a source from the production team as saying, “The cast and crew were stationed at the Hyatt Regency in Lucknow. In the initial leg of his stint, Randeep got into an argument with the make-up man [name undisclosed on request] about the look he was to sport on that day. It started out as a verbal altercation, but things quickly spiralled out of hand as the actor manhandled the make-up artiste.”
The source further added, “ Mira was not present at the scene. However, word soon reached the filmmaker and the matter was duly escalated to the BBC team in the UK. The team promptly took cognisance of the episode, and a day later, they requested Hooda to respectfully bow out of the project.”
On the other hand, Hooda has a different version of what transpired on the sets that day. He told the news daily that it was not a physical fight, but an argument with his make-up artiste who has worked with him for many years, and is working with him on Radhe. The actor further revealed that he had a brief role in the show which he did for his love for Nair. He did not exit the project but finished his four days of work and moved on to other projects.
Produced by Lookout Point for BBC One, A Suitable Boy is an adaptation of Vikram Seth’s popular novel of the same name. The show is expected to go on air in June next year.