Zeeshan and Kangana shared screen space in Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. (Credits: Instagram)
Zeeshan Ayyub impressed us with his role in Netflix’s crime drama Scoop, headlined by Karishma Tanna. Zeeshan has also worked with some prominent Bollywood names. One among them was Kangana Ranaut. Zeeshan and Kangana shared screen space in Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. Despite working together, the two do not share a cordial relationship. And their polarising political differences are to blame. In a recent interview, Zeeshan revealed that he and Kangana are not on talking terms after they learned about one another’s political opinions.
Zeeshan Ayyub, in an interaction with Lallantop, claimed that he agreed to be a part of Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika, unaware of the controversy between her and Sonu Sood. “Her (Kangana Ranaut) politics weren’t as clear during Manikarnika… She called me to her house, told me about the role, and said it was a five-day job. The money was good, and I wasn’t aware at the time of the controversy with Sonu Sood. We had a good time during those five days. It wasn’t awkward. But we haven’t spoken since. After I discovered these political differences, we haven’t met,” he said.
Kangana Ranaut and Sonu Sood were at loggerheads after the Dabangg actor walked out from Manikarnika. Reportedly, Sonu Sood was unhappy with the switch of directors in Manikarnika. Earlier, filmmaker Krish Jagarlamudi helmed the project, but he had to leave the director’s seat as Kangana wished to direct the film herself.
In an interview, Sonu Sood revealed that a majority of his scenes were removed, as Kangana wished those scenes to be shot in a particular way. Despite shooting for four months, Sonu Sood left the film midway, and Zeeshan Ayyub was roped in.
When asked about whether he stays friends with people whose political opinion differs from his, Zeeshan Ayyub revealed that although he is open to having “rational conversations” his “minimum requirement from people is that they don’t justify the deaths of others, that they don’t say that lynchings used to happen earlier as well…” According to the actor, if anyone fails to meet this criterion, he is forced to “draw the line.”
