Fardeen Khan reveals he ‘was in touch with Salman Khan throughout’ his sabbatical, he felt ‘like a newcomer’ after returning

Fardeen revealed that he just “took off” from Mumbai which made directors think that he wasn’t interested in having an acting career anymore. (Image via X)

Actor Fardeen Khan made his comeback to the film industry with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.’ He recently revealed that he regrets stepping away from the film industry as offers for films kept coming to him till about 10 years ago. He revealed that he just “took off” from Mumbai which made directors think that he wasn’t interested in having an acting career anymore.

“I kind of just completely took off. I used to come back to Mumbai every few months, but I pretty much just took off. “Yes, there were offers at the time, all the way till 2014-15, but after that, people assumed that I’ve moved out of the country. That’s a perception I’m still trying to change. I live in India, I’m based out of here now, this is home. But that was not the perception before, and rightly so because I wasn’t around,” Fardeen said.

He added, “There were offers up to a certain point, but then I put on a lot of weight and that was a signal to people that, ‘Hey, he’s obviously not interested.’ Most certainly I regret taking such a long break of 12 years. It’s a big, big regret. It wasn’t planned but I wish the gap was shorter, by at least 6-7 years. I needed some time off after I lost my father and for my personal reasons also.”

When Fardeen returned, he started calling up everyone he had ever worked with. He also revealed that Salman Khan was in touch with Fardeen the entire time he was away.

“Sanjay Gupta offered me a film in our second meeting! It was scary when I came back, I felt like a newcomer all over again. It feels good that people haven’t forgotten you, people still want to see your work. Salman I’ve been in touch with pretty much throughout. I met Mukesh Chhabra also. I’m trying to convince people now that I’m here and ready to work,” he said.

Fardeen Khan will next be seen in ‘Khel Khel Mein’ starring alongside Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu. The film will release this Independence Day.