Back in 2002, Ranvir Shorey and Pooja Bhatt made headlines after the actor was allegedly involved in an altercation with the actress while living-in together. Soon after, Pooja’s brother Rahul Bhatt got involved in the matter and assaulted Ranvir in an attempt to protect his sister. Rahul was subsequently arrested and charged in connection with the incident. Now, more than two decades later, Rahul has admitted that he overreacted and regrets taking the law into his own hands, while praising Ranvir Shorey for the way he handled the aftermath.

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Rahul Bhatt recalled the incident and said, “There was an altercation between Ranvir Shorey and Pooja Bhatt. They had an argument, after which Ranvir hit her or something like that. I had to step in and when I did, my response was a bit exaggerated. I broke his car’s glass. I broke one of his ribs. I did a wrong thing by taking the law in my hand. Subsequently, I paid the price for it. I was arrested. Charged.”

He added, “I regret it. I shouldn’t have overreacted. Back in those days, I said I would do it again. But in the case of Ranvir Shorey, I shouldn’t have. He was very decent. In the compounding of the offence, he came forward and he said, ‘Let bygones be bygones.’ Nobody does something like that. People usually use such situations to extract money, but he didn’t. He came and compounded the case, and the FIR was quashed. Until then, I had a criminal case pending. He was very decent in that. I respect him for that. Nobody else would have done it without a grudge.”

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However, Rahul’s statement is markedly different from what he said just a year ago in an interview with Hindi Rush. At the time, he said, “I was always the kind of person who wouldn’t spare anybody who messed with my sister. I am well behaved with well behaved people, but I could be a horror to the wrong kind of people.”

He also admitted to assaulting Ranvir and said, “I did, and I will do it again. I am not afraid of anybody. If anybody hits my sister, no law and order can stop me. Only God can save them. I am still like that, my core personality hasn’t changed.”

Ranvir Shorey has previously spoken about the incident, describing it as the biggest scandal of his life. He said the controversy forced him to leave India for a brief period and made him fear that his career was over.

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Speaking about the episode inside the Bigg Boss house, Ranvir said, “During the same time, I also encountered the biggest scandal of my life with another actress. As I was unable to cope, my brother asked me to come to the US with him for a while. I pursued a six-month acting course in the US and borrowed money from my brother. After returning from the US, I started shooting for The Great Indian Comedy Show in 2005. At that time, two of my long-shelved films were greenlit for release and hit theatres back-to-back within a week, and my work was loved by audiences. After those films, I finally felt my life was steady as an actor and that I had arrived.”

Ranvir has continued to speak about Mahesh Bhatt’s role in the controversy and has previously accused the filmmaker of being manipulative.

“Mahesh Bhatt used the respect I had for him against me very manipulatively. When I had a fight with Pooja, both Mahesh Bhatt and my father came to an understanding to finish the matter. The next day, they proceeded to print utter lies about me. And subsequently, everything they planted against me in the India, it was all untrue. They painted me as an alcoholic, abusive person. It was all lies. Pooja’s brother was the one who assaulted me. Mahesh Bhatt could have stood up and told these guys to not talk like this. In that sense, I felt he was manipulative. It was about 25 years ago, no point discussing it now,” Ranvir told Siddharth Kannan.

Ranvir Shorey married actor Konkona Sen Sharma in 2010, while Pooja Bhatt married Manish Makhija in 2003. Both Ranvir and Pooja have since divorced their respective partners.