Every year, the Hindi film industry throws up new superstars. Box office collections lead to super duper hit movies and with it the stars become household names. However, there are also plenty of instances when a known superstar has refused to act in a movie which later on turned into a very big grosser. At that point of time, the actor who refused to be a part of the movie has no option but to curse his luck.
Let us now look at some of the iconic stars of the film world who refused a movie that turned out to be a huge hit with the characters they refused turning iconic.
Shah Rukh Khan: Well the king of romance was offered the hero’s role in Padmmaavat. However, Shah Rukh refused to do it. Do you know why? He reportedly asked for a fee of Rs 90 crore which director Sanjay Leela Bhansali could not afford. He asked SRK to reconsider his remuneration. However, Shah Rukh did not budge from his stand. So what he lost out on became Ranveer Singh’s gain. Film trade analysts said Padmaavaat made more than Rs 600 crore collections at the box office.
Kareena Kapoor Khan: Bebo as she is lovingly called has plenty of hit movies in her kitty. She could have had another one in Kal Ho Na Ho. Initially one of the producers of the movie, Karan Johar wanted Kareena to play the role Preity Zinta later did. Kareena demanded the same remuneration as that of Shah Rukh Khan (more than Rs 20 crore). However, Karan was not able to accommodate her and the role went to Preity. The movie did business of over Rs 300 crore at the box office.
Sridevi: This iconic actor could have easily been a part of the super duper hit Bahubali: The Beginning. Producers Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni wanted Sridevi to play the role of Prabhas’ mother. However, she refused to do it at less than rupees six crore. The role was then portrayed by Ramya Krishna who took Rs 2.50 crore. Keeping in mind the popularity and the success the film achieved, Sridevi would have surely rued her luck for turning down the offer. The budget of Bahubali was Rs 180 crore and it went on to make over Rs 650 crore.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui: This versatile actor was initially offered the role which Akshay Kumar did in Jolly LLB 2. However, Nawaz wanted a fee of Rs 3.50 crore. For a movie which had a budget of less than Rs 50 crore it was impossible for the producers to shell out such a sum. Hence Nawaz missed out on an iconic role. Akshay Kumar took exactly a crore to do the film which later on grossed close to Rs 200 crore at the box office.
Sonakshi Sinha: This actress made a huge impact with her debut film Dabangg. Her skills were praised by all and sundry and her chemistry with Salman Khan bowled over the audience. Keeping this in mind producer-director Sajid Nadiadwala offered her the heroine’s role in Kick. However Sonakshi reportedly wanted over Rs 10 crore to do the movie because she had increased her fees after the success of Dabangg. The role then went to Jacqueline Fernandez and the movie grossed well over Rs 400 crore. Sonakshi thus missed out on an opportunity to be a part of huge hit. The movie gave Jacqueline a firm footing in the Hindi film industry.
PNN & Agencies