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AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN
ROLES TURNED DOWN: Dostana, Chalte Chalte, Bluffmaster!, Hitch, Mr & Mrs Smith, Hancock
WHY: After an Ash-Salman Khan lovers’ tiff got ugly on the sets of Chalte Chalte, producer Shah Rukh Khan dropped the former Miss World and signed on Rani Mukerji. Angelina Jolie’s role in Mr & Mrs Smith and the part eventually played by Eva Mendes in Hitch were first offered to Ash, but she declined due to date problems. Hancock was given up because the Bachchan bahu didn’t want to lock lips with co-star Will Smith!
Aishwarya SAID: “The audience can’t see me sharing my affections for Abhishek with another guy. Now that Abhishek and I are married, the kind of quirky situations shown in Dostana, albeit in a comic vein, wouldn’t have worked.”
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| Eva Mendes in Hitch | Rani Mukerji with Shah Rukh Khan in Chalte Chalte | Charlize Theron in Hancock |
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KAREENA KAPOOR
ROLES TURNED DOWN: Page 3, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai and Bride & Prejudice
WHY: After shooting for a few days for son Hrithik’s blockbuster debut Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, actor-director Rakesh Roshan showed Kareena the door after she allegedly threw tantrums on the sets. Friend-turned-foe-turned-friend Karan Johar had to let go after Kareena quoted a hefty price to play Naina in Kal Ho Naa Ho, a role that eventually went to Preity Zinta. A date clash with Omkara forced her to give up on Madhur Bhandarkar’s Page 3. Konkona Sensharma stepped in.
KAREENA SAID: “Good Konkona did it (Page 3). I couldn’t have done it as well as her.”
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| Konkona Sensharma in Page 3 | Amisha Patel with Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Na... Pyaar Hai |
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RANI MUKERJI
ROLES TURNED DOWN: Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Munnabhai MBBS, The Namesake
WHY: Rani turned down Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa — both Akshay Kumar films — because she reportedly wasn’t happy with the roles. The official reason for letting go of Mira Nair’s The Namesake was a scheduling conflict with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, but industry gossip claims that Rani did not want to play mother to Kal Penn, who is a year older than her!
RANI SAID: “I am happy with the films I have done. For the ones I couldn’t, all I can say is that you win some, you lose some. Life’s like that.”
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| Vidya Balan in Heyy Babyy | Tabu in The Namesake |
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VIDYA BALAN
ROLES TURNED DOWN: Bipasha Basu’s role in All The Best, Konkona Sensharma’s role in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Soha Ali Khan’s role in Khoya Khoya Chand
WHY: Official word was that she refused Parineeta mentor Pradeep Sarkar’s Laaga Chunari Mein Daag because of a date clash with Heyy Babyy. Sources say Vidya was uncomfortable playing second fiddle to Rani Mukerji.
VIDYA SAID: “I had a few questions on the role (in Khoya Khoya Chand). An actor does have queries sometimes.”
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| Konkona Sensharma with Rani Mukerji in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag | Bipasha Basu in All The Best |
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KAJOL
ROLES TURNED DOWN: Preity Zinta’s Zaara in Veer-Zaara. Rani Mukerji’s Mili in Baabul. Aishwarya Rai’s Megha and Nandini in Mohabbatein and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
WHY: The blunt truth? The unpredictable and outspoken Kajol did not like any of the above roles.
KAJOL SAID: “I don’t like most of the films that I am offered.”
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| Aishwarya Rai with Salman Khan in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam | Preity Zinta with Shah Rukh Khan in Veer-Zaara |
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PRIYANKA CHOPRA
ROLE TURNED DOWN: Umrao Jaan, London Dreams, Blue
WHY: Priyanka was director J.P. Dutta’s original choice for Umrao Jaan but dropped out to star in Bluffmaster! Ironically, Aishwarya, the first choice for Bluffmaster!, was signed on instead. Salman Khan reportedly refused to work with Priyanka in London Dreams. Asin bagged the role.
PRIYANKA SAID: “There’s always a next time.”
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| Aishwarya Rai in Umrao Jaan | Asin in London Dreams |
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JULIA ROBERTS
ROLES LOST: Turned down the female lead in Shakespeare in Love. (Gwyneth Paltrow won the Best Actress Oscar for the role that year.) Was considered for the role of Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin. Turned down the Sharon Stone role in Basic Instinct and Sandra Bullock’s role in The Proposal and The Blind Side. (Bullock was adjudged Best Actress at the Academy Awards for The Blind Side this year.)
WHY: Turned down Basic Instinct because she was “uncomfortable” about playing the sexy seductress. Gave up The Proposal because she wanted more money.
JULIA SAID: “I was being offered a lot of different movies but I just didn’t see the point of any of them. People would say to me, “How can you just be passing on all those things?” And my response was: “Tell me a movie you’ve seen in the past year that I should have made.”
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| Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love | Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct |
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NICOLE KIDMAN
ROLES LOST: Originally cast as Mrs Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.Was considered for the role of Catwoman, eventually played by Halle Berry. Dropped out of the role of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator. Auditioned for the role of Molly in Ghost which went to Demi Moore. Turned down the lead role of Roxie Hart in Chicago. (Renee Zellweger bagged a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for the role.)
WHY: While Kidman refused The Aviator opposite Leonardo Dicaprio because of date issues, she passed up on Chicago because she had just completed Moulin Rouge! and did not want to do two musicals in a row.
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| Halle Berry in Catwoman | Renee Zellweger with Richard Gere in Chicago | Demi Moore in Ghost |
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SCARLETT JOHANSSON
ROLES LOST: Was considered for the role of Susan Storm/ Invisible Girl in Fantastic Four, but the part went to Jessica Alba. Was offered the role of Lindsey Farris in Mission: Impossible III, opposite Tom Cruise. Backed out of the role of Evey in V for Vendetta. Natalie Portman stepped in. Was offered the role of Lois Lane in Superman Returns.
WHY: Date problems. Reportedly felt that the Mission: Impossible role was “too miniscule.”
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| Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta | Jessica Alba in Fantastic Four |
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DEMI MOORE
ROLES LOST: Was replaced by Sandra Bullock for the lead in While You Were Sleeping. Auditioned for the role of Luisa Contini in Nine, but Marion Cotillard was cast instead. Was in the running for the role of Katherine Clifton in The English Patient. (Kristin Scott Thomas received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for the role.)
WHY: Director Anthony Minghella refused to helm The English Patient if it starred Moore (for reasons unknown). Scheduling conflicts forced Mrs Kutcher to opt out of While You Were Sleeping.
DEMI SAID: “Every role comes with its own destiny. You can’t force these things.”
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| Marion Cotillard in Nine | Kristin Scott Thomas with Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient |
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HILARY SWANK
ROLES LOST: Campaigned for the role of Christine Collins in Changeling, but lost to Angelina Jolie.Was in consideration for the role of Satine in Moulin Rouge! but Nicole Kidman, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination, was cast instead.
WHY: Swank’s “less-girly” image apparently worked against her when the makers were casting for Moulin Rouge!
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| Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge! | Angelina Jolie in Changeling |
