Pankaj Jha, the actor who rose to fame with the web series Panchayat, has recently accused Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi and director Anurag Kashyap of playing politics.
Jha, who was initially cast in the role of Sultan Qureshi in Kashyap's critically acclaimed film 'Gangs of Wasseypur', was later replaced by Tripathi. Jha has now claimed that he was dropped from the film because he refused to give in to Kashyap's political demands.
In an interview, Jha said that Kashyap had asked him to join his political party and campaign for him in the upcoming elections. However, Jha refused, saying that he was not interested in politics.
Jha claimed that Kashyap was angry with him for refusing his request and therefore decided to drop him from the film. He also alleged that Kashyap had replaced him with Tripathi because Tripathi was willing to comply with his political demands.
Anurag Kashyap reacts to Pankaj Jha's allegations-
Kashyap has denied Jha's allegations, saying that the actor was dropped from the film because he was not available for shooting.
Kashyap said that Jha had informed him that he would be unavailable for shooting for a few months due to personal reasons. Kashyap said that he could not wait for Jha and therefore decided to cast Tripathi in the role.
Kashyap also said that he had no political motives behind casting Tripathi in the film. He said that he has worked with Jha in the past and respects him as an actor.
Pankaj Jha's career-
Jha has been active in the Hindi film industry since 2001. He made his debut with Mira Nair's film 'Monsoon Wedding'. He has also appeared in films such as 'Company', 'Haasil' and 'Atrangi Re'.
Jha is currently seen in the third season of the web series Panchayat, in which he plays the role of MLA Chandrakishor Singh.