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The actor opened up about making tough film choices in his early days and why he regrets his role in the much-talked-about Bollywood film.
Arshad Warsi says he needed funds to finish his home and did Jaani Dushman despite regrets.(Photo Credit: Youtube)
Rajkumar Kohli’s film Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani released in theatres in 2002. Despite a star-studded cast including Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Manisha Koirala and Arshad Warsi, the film failed at the box office. A commercial and critical misfire at the time of its release, Jaani Dushman later achieved cult status for its outlandish story and over-the-top execution
In a recent interview with Raj Shamani, Arshad Warsi admitted that he signed the project purely for financial reasons. The actor shared he actually asked the director to kill off his character early in the film.
When Arshad Warsi Chose Money Over Pride
When asked if there were any of his own projects he didn’t like, Arshad admitted that he isn’t particularly proud of Jaani Dushman. “My movies are terrible; they usually offend everybody. I don’t want to say all these things, but I have done some films which I am not proud of. One very famous film that is in that list is a film called Jaani Dushman. Armaan Kohli’s father, Rajkumar Kohli, is one of the nicest people in the industry. When he called you for a film, most actors would say yes. Purely because of the kind of person he was,” said the actor.
Arshad Warsi explained that at the time, he and his wife, Maria, were building their first home and had run out of money. He openly admitted, “I just needed the money. Maria and I were building a house, but after buying it, we had no money left to actually build something. We were collecting money from wherever we could. I mean, the terrace of my home could be constructed because of Jaani Dushman.”
Despite not being a film he admired, Arshad said that working with Rajkumar Kohli was always a positive experience as the director was known for being respectful with actors’ time and payments.
Arshad Warsi on His Early Exit from Jaani Dushman
Arshad Warsi further went on to share that he asked the director to have his character killed off early in the film as he was not keen to stay on set longer than required. “When he asked me to make it, I told him to kill me off first,” Warsi said.
On the other hand, Arshad’s co-star Akshay Kumar was quite eager to prolong his character in the film. “He kept coming back and kept trying to fit himself into other characters,” he added.
Arshad Warsi was last seen in Jolly LLB 3 alongside Akshay Kumar. The actor will next be a part of Welcome To The Jungle.
Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-…Read More
Kashvi Raj Singh is a Sub Editor at News18. She extensively covers Bollywood, Hollywood and television. She not only keeps an eye out for interesting news angles but also often writes social commentary in long-… Read More
October 30, 2025, 15:06 IST
