Shah Rukh Khan to Irrfan Khan: Bollywood biggies who said no to Hollywood films
Every aspiring actor who sets out on the journey with the dream of working in movies probably has one thing in mind: to "make it big" in their life. Bollywood and Hollywood are one of the biggest film industries in the world, and their celebrities enjoy undisputed popularity as well. A few Hindi film celebrities have not only made it big in terms of bank balance but also own a massive fan following - not only in India, but also across the continents.
Stars like Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, and Aishwarya Rai have an immense global reputation and have been successful in leaving their mark in Hollywood. But there have also been a number of occasions where Bollywood talents have declined big-budget Hollywood projects despite receiving numerous generous offers.
So, here is a list of Bollywood stars that declined major Hollywood movies that were offered to them.
Irrfan Khan - Interstellar
Although Irrfan Khan has been a part of several popular Hollywood projects, which include ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘Life Of Pi’, ‘Inferno’ amongst others. The talented actor declined one major offer that came his way.
He was offered a role in Christopher Nolan’s 'Interstellar ', but Khan, due to his busy schedule for films' 'D-Day 'and 'Lunch Box', rejected the offer. The role of "Mann" was then passed to actor Matt Damon.
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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - Troy
As per a report by Cosmopolitan, the former Miss World declined the role of Briseis, opposite Brad Pitt in 2004's historic war movie 'Troy,' directed by Wolfgang Petersen. The actress was not comfortable doing steamy scenes with Pitt that the story demanded, hence she said not to the film.
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Shah Rukh Khan - Slumdog Millionaire
As per reports, actor Anil Kapoor’s role in the Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' was initially offered to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. King Khan turned down the offer, believing he was not the ideal fit for this position. Anil Kapoor played the role of "Prem Kumar" as the game show host.
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Deepika Padukone - Fast & Furious 7
Even before she starred in ‘XXX: The Return Of The Xander’ alongside Vin Diesel, Deepika Padukone was offered a role in the famous ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise. Padukone, however, declined the ambitious role as the actress was busy shooting for Farah Khan’s ‘Happy New Year’ at that time.
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Naseeruddin Shah - Harry Potter series
One of India's most celebrated actors, Naseeruddin Shah, refused to audition for the iconic role of ‘Albus Dumbledore' from the ‘Harry Potter’ series, which was ultimately played by Richard Harris. It is said Shah had an issue with being auditioned.
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Priyanka Chopra - Immortals
Global star Priyanka Chopra has created a huge name for herself in Hollywood. However, the star had earlier rejected a role in the 2011 fantasy-action film ‘Immortals’. The ‘Qunatico’ actor’s schedule coincided with her Bollywood project, ‘7 Khoon Maaf’. In an interview, the actor revealed that she had rejected five more Hollywood movies.
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