Rajat Bedi, who recently made headlines with his powerful performance in The Bads of Bollywood, is once again in the spotlight, but this time, for a controversy he didn’t see coming. The actor, known for playing the bully Raj Saxena in Koi Mil Gaya, has accused veteran actor Mukesh Khanna of twisting his words to create viral content. What began as a simple conversation about his career and life choices turned into an online frenzy that forced Bedi to clear the air.
In a new interview with Siddharth Kannan, Rajat addressed the issue directly. “I share a good bond with Rakesh Roshan sir. He is the most helpful director. He would enact the scene to explain how it should look on screen. Only an actor-director can do that. As far as my Canada migration statement is concerned, it was blown away because of Mukesh Khanna,” he said.
Bedi claimed that Khanna distorted his earlier comments for attention. “In an interview, I told him that I moved to Canada after Koi Mil Gaya’s release. But he used my statement to generate views. He stated that I moved to Canada after being sidelined in the promotions of Koi Mil Gaya. That was very wrong. How can you do it just to get hits and views on your video? A week before the interview came out, I was with Rakesh ji,” he explained.
The Interview That Sparked It All
The confusion traces back to Rajat’s 2023 chat with Mukesh Khanna, where he had candidly shared his disappointment about being left out of the film’s promotional activities. “My biggest disappointment was that when Koi Mil Gaya released, they completely cut me out from the publicity and promotions. I was very disappointed because as an actor, one has expectations. I felt terrible,” he had said at the time.
He also revealed that several of his scenes with Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta never made it to the final cut. “I had a lot of scenes in the film with Preity Zinta and Hrithik Roshan. But after the final cut, many of those were edited out,” he recalled.
Why He Left India
Rajat’s earlier comments about moving to Canada were rooted in financial frustration, not professional bitterness. Despite acting in several big films, he struggled to achieve financial stability. “Then I was doing films with Sunny Deol. But all the cheques I received bounced. I was like, how will I grow? I’m getting films, I’m getting fame, but I had to run a household. I asked myself, getting popular is fine, but where is the money?” he said.
He eventually shifted to Vancouver, where he tried his hand at real estate development before returning to India years later.
Looking Back and Moving Forward
Released in 2003, Rakesh Roshan’s Koi Mil Gaya remains a landmark film in Indian cinema for its emotional story and groundbreaking visual effects. Rajat’s portrayal of Raj Saxena, the school bully, became one of the film’s most recognizable characters. Over the years, he’s appeared in more than 40 films, including Rakht, Khamoshh: Khauff Ki Raat, and Rocky – The Rebel, and in TV shows like Kasautii Zindagii Kay and Aahat.
Now, with The Bads of Bollywood reigniting interest in his career, Rajat Bedi seems ready for a fresh chapter, one where he controls his own narrative. “I’ve worked too hard to let someone use me for views,” he said. “This time, people will see me for who I really am.”
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