Arshad Warsi was tricked into small role in Hulchul after being promised Akshay Kumar-type lead part: ‘Wore assistant director’s clothes’

Arshad Warsi calls Hulchul bad experience. (Photo: Express Archive)

Arshad Warsi has given several memorable characters to audiences over his decades-long career. However, not all projects proved to be fulfilling experiences for the actor. In a recent interaction, Arshad shared an anecdote about how he was tricked into playing a small supporting role in Priyadarshan’s 2004 film Hulchul, which starred Akshaye Khanna and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles.

In an interaction with The Lallantop, Arshad revealed that he was promised by the film’s writer Neeraj Vora that he would be playing one of the leads in the film, similar to the role Akshay Kumar played in Priyadarshan’s blockbuster Hera Pheri. He said, “Hulchal was a bad experience. It was a problem. I was very busy at that time and was doing a lot of films, and Neeraj Vora told me that there is a film which is being directed by Priyadarshan. I was like wow, and said done. I asked for my role and I was doing good work at that time. Neeraj told me that my role in the film would be similar to what Akshay Kumar played in Hera Pheri. He told me it was one of the leads. He said it is the same thing as Akshay’s role and Akshay’s role was superb in Hera Pheri, and I said yes thinking that.”

However, Arshad admitted that he was taken aback when he reached the set of the film and realised that his role was merely that of the hero’s friend. “I was taken aback after reaching the set, and I don’t think Priyadarshan even knew about it. It was not his fault. He didn’t know about it. He just knew that there is this guy who is doing this character.”

Arshad further revealed that little to no attention was paid to his costumes in the film and that an assistant director ended up designing his clothes, which did not fit him properly. The actor shared that he eventually wore his own clothes during the shoot. “I was standing on the set wearing oversized shirt and I thought to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ At that point I saw the film’s chief AD walking in wearing the same shirt and I realised he is also my designer of the film or I was just wearing his shirt.”

He added, “It was a mess but since it was a commitment, I finished the film. I wore my own clothes in half of the film because I was not able to understand whether they are giving me a nighty or a shirt to wear.”

Hulchul also starred Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Arshad Warsi, Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal, Arbaaz Khan and Shakti Kapoor, and went on to become a box office hit.