The saga surrounding actor Vijay Raaz and producer Kumar Mangat has now gotten murkier than ever pertaining to the Son of Sardaar 2 shoot.
A long report in Pinkvilla suggested that Raaz has been removed from the film by producer Kumar Mangat owing to allegedly having unrealistic demands from Raaz’s side along with a sexual misconduct story that involved Raaz’s spot boy. The report had back-and-forth quotes from Mangat and Raaz which highlighted both sides of the story.
Here’s a timeline of it-
Removal of Vijay Raaz from the film & why
Kumar Mangat mentioned that they had removed Vijay Raaz from the film due to his behavior on set. He explained that Vijay Raaz had demanded bigger rooms, a vanity van, and had overcharged them for his spot boys. In fact, his spot boy was being paid Rs. 20,000 per night, which was more than what even big actors earned. Mangat pointed out that the UK was an expensive place, and everyone, including Vijay Raaz, had been given standard rooms during the shoot, but Raaz insisted on staying in premium suites. When the production team tried to explain the cost issues, Raaz refused to listen and responded rudely, saying that they had approached him for the project, and he had not come asking for work. Despite their efforts to accommodate his demands, his behavior worsened as his requests continued to grow. He even started demanding two cars for his three-person staff to travel. When the Executive Producer refused, Raaz was rude with him as well. After multiple discussions, the decision was made to remove him from the film.
Vijay Raaz’s side & contrasting story
Followed by that, actor Vijay Raaz had his own take to things and said that he had arrived at the location ahead of time for the trial. After reaching the van, Ravi Kishan came to meet him, followed by the Executive Producer, Ashish, and producer Kumar Mangat. Later, director Vijay Arora also met him. Raaz mentioned that when he stepped out of the van, he saw Ajay Devgn standing about 25 meters away, but he chose not to greet him as Devgn seemed busy. Instead, he continued speaking to his friends. About 25 minutes later, Kumar Mangat approached him and told him to leave the film, saying, “Aap Film Se Nikal Jaaye, Hum Aapko Nikal Rahe Hai.” Raaz emphasized that the only possible misconduct on his part was not greeting Ajay Devgn, and he pointed out that he hadn’t even met the rest of the crew. He claimed that he was removed from the film within 30 minutes of arriving on set simply because he didn’t greet Ajay Devgn, and insisted that there was no issue of misconduct on his part, attributing the situation to the influence of powerful people.
Kumar Mangat ridiculing Vijay Raaz’s claim & keeping his stand
Kumar Mangat then highlighted that the issues didn’t just arise on set but from the moment he was signed on in Mumbai. He mentioned that Ajay Devgn is not someone who waits to be greeted by others. He explained that Devgn prefers to be surrounded by creative people and treats everyone with respect. Mangat dismissed the claim that Vijay Raaz was removed for not greeting Ajay Devgn, calling it false. He mentioned that they suffered a loss of at least two crore due to Raaz’s removal from the film, and such a decision would not be made over trivial matters. Mangat emphasized that Raaz’s behavior was a major concern, and there is no place for disrespect on their film sets, as they work like a family. He added that Raaz repeatedly told the Executive Producers and even himself that he did not need to do Son of Sardaar 2 and was only doing it because they had approached him. Raaz continuously demanded a bigger room, despite knowing the high costs in the UK, and refused to cooperate. Mangat concluded by saying that Raaz’s attitude was problematic, and they did not want to associate with someone with such a mentality.
Vijay Raaz asking why doesn’t he deserve a premium room
When asked about the saga about for demanding premium rooms, Vijay Raaz mentioned that he was asked to stay in a small room with no space to move around. He explained that, as someone who practices yoga in the morning, he needed more space in the room. Raaz questioned whether, after 26 years in the industry, he couldn’t make such a request.
Vijay Raaz demanding the same room & treatment as Ajay Devgn despite being given best rooms – Kumar Mangat
Addressing that, Kumar Mangat said in anger that both he and other actors stayed in the same category of room as Vijay Raaz, which cost Rs. 45,000 per night and was in one of the best hotels, offering ample space. He emphasized that there was no place for unprofessional behavior. Mangat expressed relief that Raaz was removed before the start of the shoot, as his presence and behavior would have likely caused issues on set. He noted that Ajay Devgn had worked with many senior actors without such problems arising. While Mangat acknowledged visiting Raaz in the vanity van on the day of the shoot, he revealed that Raaz’s final demand was for a vanity similar to Ajay Devgn’s, which Mangat described as the “final nail in the coffin.” Mangat reiterated that Raaz’s constant demands were unreasonable, and after discussing the matter with Ajay Devgn, he decided to remove Raaz from the film. He clarified that the removal was not due to Raaz not greeting Ajay Devgn, but rather because of his unreasonable demands and misconduct with the crew. Mangat also mentioned that Raaz had refused to repay the advance he had taken.
Now, the report suggested that Sanjay Mishra has now replaced Vijay Raaz.
On a parallel note, the report also mentioned that Raaz’s spot boy allegedly sexually assaulted a hotel staff under the influence of alcohol.
Sexual misconduct by Vijay Raaz’s spot boy and Raaz’s response
When asked about this, Vijay Raaz clarified that the two incidents being discussed were separate and there was a gap of at least 10 hours between them. He explained that he was removed from the film on August 4 at 2 PM, while the hotel incident took place later that night, at 11 PM on the same day. Raaz emphasized that the two events should not be conflated and stated that he had nothing to do with the hotel incident. However, he added that he did not encourage such behavior and that he was no longer working with the spot boy involved.
Kumar Mangat on hotel’s email about misconduct & happy to dissociate from working with someone like Vijay Raaz
On his side, Kumar Mangat stated that Vijay Raaz’s staff was his responsibility and expressed concern about having to work with such a problematic team member. He mentioned that they received an official email from the hotel and assured that strict action would be taken against all offenders. Mangat reiterated that they were happy to disassociate from Vijay Raaz and expressed that they had no desire to work with someone like him.
Son of Sardaar 2 is currently in production in the UK and also stars Ravi Kishan, Mrunal Thakur, Chunkey Pandey, Vindu Dara Singh, Deepak Dobriyal, Mukul Dev, Ashwini Kalsekar, Kubbra Sait, and Sanjay Dutt in key roles.