Zarina Wahab reveals Aditya Pancholi turned down Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Heeramandi'; says he has vowed not to work as character artiste

Zarina Wahab recently revealed that her husband Aditya Pancholi refused to accept roles of character artiste as he got older because he once saw veteran actor Shammi Kapoor getting lesser than ideal treatment on set.
In a conversation with Lehren Retro, Zarina recalled an incident when Aditya was shooting with Shammi Kapoor at a bungalow in Juhu. One of the rooms in the bungalow was set up for Aditya to get ready, and it had an AC. When Aditya arrived, he asked if Shammi Kapoor had come, only to learn that the legendary actor was already there, sitting in the garden. Aditya looked outside and saw Shammi sitting near the bushes under an umbrella, getting his makeup done. Surprised, Aditya rushed downstairs and invited Shammi to come to the makeup room, but Shammi calmly replied, "No, no, I’m comfortable here. You carry on."

Zarina shared that this incident had a profound impact on Aditya, leading him to decide that he would stop acting once he transitioned to character roles. She explained that witnessing Shammi Kapoor being treated this way made Aditya realize how unfair the industry could be. Zarina added that when actors move from being heroes to character artists, they are often looked down upon, which she felt was wrong, but unfortunately, that's how the industry works.

Zarina revealed that Aditya's last appearance in films was in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani. She also shared that Bhansali had approached Aditya for Heeramandi, but he declined the offer. Zarina explained that Aditya told Bhansali, "Sir, please don't feel bad, but I don't want to work anymore."