Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, accompanied by his legal team, came to the Bandra police station on Monday morning to record his statement in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide. He was questioned for over three hours by the police regarding allegations that Rajput had been dropped from his films for having signed a contract with a major production house.
According to police sources, Bhansali showed up around 12.30 pm and recorded his statement for the next three hours. the filmmaker said the reason he was not able to work with Rajput was because the latter had prior work commitments with Yash Raj Films and was also working on Shekhar Kapur's Paani and there was a clash of dates.
Bhansali had almost signed him for his film Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela but had to drop Rajput because of date issues, according to an officer. Similarly, Rajput had also been considered for Bhansali's Bajirao-Mastani and Padmaavat but for various reasons, it failed to materialize, Bhansali told police.
Another source claimed that after Rajput was dropped from Ram-Leela, he was also allegedly denied the opportunity to work with Bhansali in future projects, which deeply hurt the late actor. Reportedly, Rajput had also auditioned for Bhansali's TV show Saraswatichandra (2013) but was unable to bag the project.
So far, the Bandra Police have recorded the statements of over 29 people and director Shekhar Kapur, who was set to shoot 'Paani' with Rajput, is likely to record his statement later this week, said police sources.
