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Before 1920 gave him a chilling debut and a brief moment in the spotlight Rajneish Duggall’s Bollywood story almost began with a much glossier script — the 2005 romantic thriller Yakeen. Signed prepped and nearly ready for his big break opposite Priyanka Chopra Rajneish’s debut was derailed before the cameras could roll — and all because of a star’s refusal. Did Priyanka Chopra ruin his career? In a candid interview with Siddharth Kannan in May 2024 Rajneish shared the lesser-known saga behind his Bollywood detour and said I was the first choice for Yakeen I was signed for the film. In fact I was working on it. When I met director Girish Dhamija he asked me When can you move to Mumbai? I was already planning to move to Mumbai. So I got training from Girish ji himself; he is an alumnus of the National School of Drama and a dialect coach. They signed a three-film deal with me. I had a double role in the film with Priyanka as the lead. They put me in a penthouse at Juhu 10th Road. They gave me a car and a driver. One call and a person would bring food to my flat. I was going to classes and fully preparing. I prepared for two to two and a half months. I left brand endorsements of Siyaram Vimal and other companies to concentrate on the film. But then came the twist. He added Suddenly the producer Sujit Kumar Singh called me to his office at night. He told me that Priyanka has become a big star in the period since they had signed me and they had paid her for the bulk deal now she is saying I will not work with a newcomer. My first reaction was that change the girl because I only saw them putting money on me. I didn’t understand the movie business at that time. They said Priyanka wanted that but I feel it could have been the managers or the people around her. I don’t blame her but she was aware that I was doing the film. She could have said ‘No he will do it. Eventually Yakeen went ahead with Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra while Rajneish made his debut three years later in the Vikram Bhatt horror film 1920. The film was a surprise hit but unfortunately it would remain his only major box office success. String of flop films In the years that followed he appeared in a slew of underwhelming films (Be Careful Spark Wajah Tum Ho Laal Rang among others) — none of which lived up to the promise of his debut. Over time the model-turned-actor quietly racked up a list of over 15 flops. Now Rajneish is eyeing a second act on OTT with appearances in Inspector Avinash Video Cam Scam and Postcards. Will digital stardom succeed where Bollywood stumbled? The camera’s rolling once again — only this time no ones saying cut... yet.