Sooraj Pancholi On Losing Films After Jiah Khan Case: 'They Had To Protect Their Investment'
Last Updated:
Sooraj Pancholi opens up on his return to films, industry rejections post Jiah Khan case, and why he holds no grudges: "They had to protect their investment."
In a small studio tucked away in Mumbai's Andheri, Sooraj Pancholi seems almost too restless for the confined space. He suggests walking and talking—an idea betrayed by the modest dimensions of the room. So instead, the 34-year-old actor settles for a traditional sit-down interview, though the energy in him is hard to contain.
It's been just a few days since the release of Kesari Veer, a historical epic that marked Sooraj's long-anticipated return to the big screen. The film may not have set the box office ablaze—it grossed ₹25 crore worldwide against a reported ₹60 crore budget—but Sooraj isn't dwelling on the numbers. 'I get messages from colleagues, directors, and fans who say I've grown since my first film," he says. Then he pauses and adds with quiet candour, 'But I'm still not satisfied. I want to do better work, better films, and work with experienced directors."
Kesari Veer, which featured an ensemble cast including Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, and Akanksha Sharma, might not have been a commercial triumph, but for Sooraj, it represents something far more personal: a reset. 'Each film, no matter its fate, builds more confidence in an actor. Even a flop teaches you something. Still a long, long way to go," he reflects.
His journey in cinema has been anything but linear. Since his debut in 2015 with Hero, Sooraj has appeared in just four films as a leading man—largely because the past decade saw him caught in a legal storm. In 2013, his then-girlfriend, actor Jiah Khan, died by suicide. Sooraj was arrested and charged with abetment. It wasn't until 2023 that a CBI special court acquitted him, citing lack of evidence.
For Sooraj, Kesari Veer isn't just a film. It's a personal milestone. 'This is the first time there is no other load on me," he says, acknowledging that the burden of public scrutiny has finally begun to lift. And yet, even after two years of acquittal and over a decade since the tragedy, the questions persist. '2025 is the last time I'm talking about this," he states firmly. 'It's done. Everyone has seen and read all about it."
Does he feel bitter about how the industry reacted? 'Many filmmakers backed out of films I was cast in," he admits. 'But I understood. Paise unhi ke lag rahe hain, boss (They're the ones investing money). I wasn't producing those films. They had to do what they thought was right. Everything has its own time."
But there's no trace of self-pity. If anything, Sooraj sees the uphill climb as a badge of honour. 'I like it this way," he says with a shrug. 'I prefer having everything the hard way. Fire will always test gold."
Now, with Kesari Veer behind him, he's looking ahead with optimism—and clarity. 'In the end, I'm only as good as my directors," he muses. It's no surprise then that his wishlist includes names like Kabir Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, both of whom he assisted before stepping into the limelight. 'It would be full circle," he smiles. 'And once that happens, I hope we can sit on these very chairs again and talk about that phase of my life."
First Published:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
19 hours ago
- News18
Kuberaa Review: Dhanush, Nagarjuna's Film Is A Predictable But Engaging Tale Of Greed
Last Updated: Kuberaa Review: Directed by Shekar Kammula, the film stars Dhanush, Nagarjuna, and Jim Sarbh. It tells the story of a naive beggar outsmarting a cunning millionaire. Dhanush, Nagarjuna's Kuberaa review out now. Kuberaa Movie Review: It is natural to expect a moral tale about greed or an existential fable about wealth with a film titled Kuberaa (the Hindu God of wealth) and with a beggar for a protagonist. But what one would fear is the film turning overly sentimental about poverty. Kuberaa is both. As expected, it is a story of a naive beggar taking a cunning multi-millionaire for a ride, throwing a familiar light on the rich, exposing them to be self-serving murderers. It is a social commentary on the top one percent, failing to help the rest. On the other hand, the film also has a familiar gaze of the poor as a naive and oppressed lot – a perspective that has been popularised by our mainstream commercial films. However, Kuberaa treads this path carefully. While it has unidimensional characters – a rich guy for a villain and a poor guy for a hero – it is cautious enough not to become an overly melodramatic film about poverty. The problem, however, is the lack of nuance. Nevertheless, Shekar Kammula makes up for the surface-level politics of the film with an engaging screenplay, a huge compliment given the 180-minute runtime of the film. The essence (or should I say message) of Kuberaa has a problem of oversimplification. As a film, it becomes one of the rare ones in recent times that relies solely on the story. Kammula isn't bothered about theatre moments or lack of 'punches' and such gimmicks. He takes his time to tell his story with a restrained pace. Hence, we don't get to see either Dhanush or Nagarjuna for a really long time in the movie. Instead, we see a solid story of a political scam unfolding. Employees of a government oil rig are elated to find pure crude oil in the Bay of Bengal that would serve the entire country for 15 long years. The information is ratted out to a multi-millionaire Neeraj (Jim Sarbh), who strikes a deal with the central ministers. The oil rig is bombed with all the employees, and the project is closed. The whole sector gets privatised and comes under Neeraj's control. In return, Neeraj has to pay a sum of one lakh crore to the ministers – half of it in black. Neeraj and his father find a former CBI officer, Deepak (Nagarjuna), as the right fit to get the job done. An erstwhile honest official, he is now behind bars for doing his duty. In exchange for freedom and money, the honest officer agrees to get his hands dirty. He comes up with a plan of turning a bunch of beggars into 'benamis' and running shelf companies to do the dirty work of transferring the money. They take in Deva (Dhanush), a beggar from Tirupati, and three more. When the naive Deva realises something is amiss, he escapes, and all hell breaks loose for the rich. There's nothing that's surprising with Kuberaa. We have a familiar redemption arc for Deepak. We have seen Neeraj's kind in numerous films by A.R. Murugadoss and Shankar. We've seen the naivety and nobility of Deva too. Hence, it is easy to write off Kuberaa as lacking novelty, and one wouldn't be wrong to do so. But one also has the onus of explaining why the film continues to be engaging despite its predictability. The reason is the solid craftsmanship of Shekar Kammula, who creates brilliant drama despite using familiar scenarios. The meeting of Deva and Sameera (Rashmika Mandanna) is an example of such good drama. Kammula brings in Sameera, an outsider to the story, without us batting an eye. His mechanics are subtle. This is aided by solid performances from almost all the cast members. Dhanush, Nagarjuna, Rashmika, Jim Sarbh, and even Sayaji Shinde, who makes a brief appearance, leave a lasting impact. The commendable craftsmanship of Kammula also becomes evident in the evolution of Deva's character from being completely illiterate to becoming a man who starts understanding worldly things. The transformation is subtle, gradual, and believable. That's the success of Kuberaa. It might be telling you something you already know, but it tells it in such an engaging fashion that you forget you know the story already. I only wish such dexterity was shown in creating nuance. The gaze on beggars is shallow in the film. It doesn't make sense why every beggar in the film is shown to be a Tarzan-like figure. They are poor, not savages. They might be uncivilised but not primitive. If the villains are choosing only such unsound individuals, it doesn't get registered either. Thus, all the beggars in the film are shown as individuals completely cut off from civilisation. It is ironic because Kuberaa is a film that tries to humanise them. On top of that, the film's climax is underwhelming, to say the least. While Kuberaa carefully steers away from the generic nature of commercial entertainers, the end seems like an easy way out and undermines its desire to be unique. First Published:
Pink Villa
20 hours ago
- Pink Villa
Kuberaa Ending Explained: What does Dhanush as Deva do with Rs 10000 crore in the climax scene?
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers. Kuberaa, starring Dhanush and Nagarjuna Akkineni in the lead roles, hit the big screens on June 20, 2025. The Sekhar Kammula directorial presents a social thriller tale, featuring the story of a beggar and a former CBI officer whose lives intertwine due to a businessman's ambition. Kuberaa features the story of a multimillionaire, Neeraj Mitra (played by Jim Sarbh), who lives in Mumbai with a luxurious life and believes that fame is equal to power. In his life of high society, the business tycoon discovers an oil reserve in the Bay of Bengal. As he hopes to procure it and use it to improve his finances for at least 15 years, he decides to fund politicians with a bribe of Rs 1 lakh crore. However, in doing so, the businessman requires the expertise of a former CBI officer, a man from a middle-class financial background. As the calm and calculated man delves into the world of scandal, intertwined with the web of lies, he forms a plan to funnel the money. In hopes of doing the same, the CBI officer, Deepak (Nagarjuna Akkineni), decides to recruit various beggars from the nation to transport the money. He then discovers Deva, a homeless man. Spoiler Alert As Deva (played by Dhanush) is recruited and groomed into the planned scandal, he is passed off as a wealthy man carrying a portion of Rs 10000 crore with him. However, over the passing moments, the beggar realizes that Neeraj plans to kill him and the rest of the beggars after completing the mission. In fear for his life, the once naive Deva runs for his safety and accidentally meets Sameera, a young girl with her own dreams and desires. As a manhunt is called on Deva by Deepak, we are exposed to the realities faced by beggars in society. Additionally, flashback portions showcase how the once-honest CBI officer was a part of the corruption, making him a pawn in the corrupt system. With the money in his hand, Deva decides to supply the Rs 10000 crore he has to the poor people of the society, with Neeraj still hot on his tail. Now, a reformed Deepak joins the beggar's side, seeking to end the businessman's evil tactics and bring an end to the cat-and-mouse chase once and for all.
Pink Villa
a day ago
- Pink Villa
Kuberaa Review: Dhanush serves as the driving force in tale of ‘power vs money' with a stern performance by Nagarjuna
Kuberaa, starring Dhanush and Nagarjuna Akkineni in the lead roles, hit the big screens on June 20, 2025. The Sekhar Kammula directorial offers an interesting tale of power vs money with the director's unique and extreme portrayal of realism. If you are planning to go deep into the webs of a crime-filled world, here's the Pinkvilla review for Kuberaa. The Plot Kuberaa narrates the tale of a business tycoon, Neeraj, a powerful man who plans to seize control of a newly discovered oil reserve in the Bay of Bengal. In order to make it a sure deal, he decides to bribe politicians from the entire nation with a sum of Rs 1 lakh crore. As the deal requires precarious treatment, the businessman decides to seek help from Deepak, a former CBI officer. With the plan involving the use of a beggar, he incorporates Deva, a homeless man, into his scheme, which leads to chaos that nobody expected. Whether the businessman succeeds in bribing the politicians and why the former CBI officer agreed to be part of the scheme form the rest of the film. The Good Exploring the facets of Kuberaa, the movie rides heavily on the characters Deva and Deepak. The roles are played by Dhanush and Nagarjuna Akkineni respectively. The actors have performed with utmost perfection. With the Raayan actor in the lead, Dhanush completely surrenders himself to the narrative, once again proving his calibre as a versatile performer. As the Sekhar Kammula directorial explores the extremities of a social condition, the film lies deeply embedded in realism, a rare feat in Telugu cinema. As the distinctive signature of the director is visually woven in the storyline, Kuberaa does seem to offer a novelty to its presentation, but the flaws of writing do not impact the characters in this film. The director offers utmost care in execution, and the technical aspects stand strong with Devi Sri Prasad's musical tracks. The composer's skills as a musician are strongly showcased with the cinematography by Niketh Bommireddy, capturing each frame with precision and aesthetic quality. The Bad Kuberaa is a tale that offers a fresh plot, but sadly, the movie fails from a writing standpoint. The poor crafting of the screenplay is trifling in both the first half and the second half. In the initial half, the Dhanush starrer sure takes its sweet time to establish the core aspects. The long duration for the world-building feels like a humongous task for a viewer, but a moment of elevation transforms it into an edge-of-the-seat thriller, leading to the midpoint. While the second half manages to continue the momentum, the third act fails to keep it up, managing to lose focus. The climax, where it all ties up together, is a saving grace in the fleeting moment, partially making up for the lacklustre writing. In all important aspects, Kuberaa suffers from a long runtime of more than 3 hours. While a writer and director may justify the duration as a necessity, a member of the audience may not be as impressed to spend such a huge chunk of time. In respect to characters, Rashmika Mandanna was brilliant with her portrayal; however, it seems like her importance in the flick was nerfed at one point. The failure to edit the film more concisely is a big con for experiencing the full potential of the movie. The Performances As mentioned earlier, Dhanush is the driving force for the social thriller venture. From the introduction scene itself, the actor adapts to his surroundings, paying attention to detail on every nuance. While Nagarjuna plays an age-appropriate role, the veteran star manages to showcase a door to his skills, often overlooked by many filmmakers. Rashmika offers her best version with this film. Finally, the addition of a brilliant actor like Jim Sarbh makes you want him to appear in more South films. Watch the trailer of Kuberaa: The Verdict Kuberaa is an interesting and unique attempt by Sekhar Kammula in blending commercial aspects with a realistic narrative. A talented ensemble cast at the helm, the social thriller is a fresh cup of tea despite its flaws. If you love such genres or simply want to experience a masterclass in acting by Dhanush, then surely watch this movie without fail.
