Most of the actors who played popular roles like Gangubai in Gangubai Kathiawadi and Naina in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani were not the first choices of the respective directors.
From the original cast of Bajirao Mastani to Naina in the blockbuster hit Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani here is a list of actors who were initially offered these popular roles in these hit films. But they couldn’t be a part of the films due to various reasons.
Credit: Instagram
Udta PunjabBoth Priyanka and Parineeti Chopra were offered roles in Udta Punjab, which was eventually played by Alia Bhatt (Kumari Pinky) and Kareena Kapoor Khan (Preet Sahani).
Yeh Jawaani Hai DeewaniFor the famous geeky role of Naina in Ayan Mukherjee's Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, also starring Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma were initially being considered. But the role ended up going to Deepika Padukone.
Bajirao MastaniSalman Khan was supposedly approached first to play Bajirao, Kareena Kapoor Khan as Mastani, and Rani Mukerji as Kashibai in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's big hit Bajirao Mastani. The film was announced in 2003 but didn't come out until 2015. The delay was probably due to the change in the entire main cast of the historic film. The new cast was led by Ranveer Singh as Bajirao, Deepika Padukone as Mastani, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as Kashibai.
Barfi!,Ileana D'Cruz made her debut in Anurag Basu's Barfi. The role was offered first to Katrina Kaif who turned down the part. And Basu had to cast Ileana as Shruti Ghosh.
Kabir SinghSandeep Reddy Vanga originally intended to cast Tara Sutaria as Preeti in Kabir Singh. Later, the role in the Hindi remake of Vijay Deverakonda’s Telugu movie, Arjun Reddy went to Kiara Advani.
Udham SinghIrrfan Khan was meant to play the protagonist in Shoojit Sircar's film Udham Singh. But owing to health issues, he quit the production, and Vicky Kaushal took charge as Sardar Udham.
Tamasha Tamasha was directed by Imtiaz Ali, and the character of Tara was first offered to Anushka Sharma. As she declined the offer, the role eventually went to Deepika Padukone.
BharatThe Salman Khan-starrer Bharat was offered to Priyanka Chopra and she also accepted to be a part of the film. But she dropped out at the last minute, and Katrina Kaif then played the female lead in the movie.
Atrangi Re Atrangi Re director Aanand L. Rai had a different cast in mind. He wanted Varun Dhawan, Hrithik Roshan, and Alia Bhatt to portray the characters, but the roles finally went to Sara Ali Khan, Dhanush, and Akshay Kumar.
Gangubai Kathiawadi Gangubai Kathiawadi, the latest blockbuster from Sanju Leela Bhansali, was initially offered to Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone. But they refused the offer and it finally went to Alia Bhatt, who gave a stellar performance in the movie.