Actress Smila Suri, who made her debut with the film ‘Kalyug’, recently revealed that Pooja Bhatt had advised Mahesh Bhatt not to offer her any film. Talking about this in an interview, she called this phase painful and told how it affected her career and personal life.

In an interview with anchor Siddharth Kannan, she revealed that her uncle, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, did not offer her any films after Kalyug (2005) because of her cousin Pooja Bhatt. Suri revealed that Pooja had fired her from her debut film ‘Holiday’. Recalling the difficult phase, Smillie said that she was happy to be fired from ‘Holiday’ as it gave her a chance to do ‘Kalyug’, which was a hit.

“Pooja had thrown me out of my first film ‘Holiday’. I am happy that I was thrown out of the film because I got a chance to do ‘Kalyug’, which was a hit. I was going through a lot of shame and depression because she used to write a lot about me in Mid-Day. When I came back from the sets of ‘Holiday’, I locked myself in a room. That’s when Bhatt sahab (Mahesh Bhatt) told me that I will do ‘Kalyug’. I think after Kalyug, Bhatt sahab couldn’t offer me any film because he had to listen to his daughter, and I don’t blame him,” she said.

She further added that though it was Pooja’s decision to opt out of Holiday, she learnt a lot while working on the film. “It was her decision. I actually created that project. I worked with choreographer Sandip Soparrkar. We rehearsed. It was her decision to oust me, but I will say that I learnt a lot while working on that film (Holiday) for six months. She knows her reasons. A lot happened, and it was a painful time, so I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.

Smillie Suri made her Bollywood debut with Kalyug, directed by her brother Mohit Suri, and starred opposite Kunal Khemu. The film also featured her cousin Emraan Hashmi in a supporting role. Smillie worked in a few Hindi films until 2012. She married Vinit Bangera in July 2014, but the couple later separated. Smillie’s comeback project, ‘House of Lies’, released on May 31 and is available for streaming on Zee5.