Career Blunders that Bollywood stars made

Mistakes, as we are told, are a part and parcel of life. So, if you can commit mistakes day in and day out, there is no reason why the Bollywood stars can’t. The only difference here is, their mistakes, unlike ours, are life-changing decisions that make headlines sooner or later. Of course, scanning through the pages of Bollywood history, it appears that one star’s loss has always been the other’s gain. To know more about Bollywood stars and their greatest career mistakes, read on.

Shah Rukh Khan: Lagaan, Munna bhai and 3 Idiots

The name ‘Munnabhai’ today has become almost synonymous to Sanjay Dutt. The actor can, after all, be credited with catapulting the character to fame by delivering a flawless, power packed performance. Not too many people, however, would know that had it not been for a slight incisiveness, the world would have had their version of the SRK Munnabhai.

Shah Rukh Khan was the first choice for the role of a gold hearted gangster. Sanju baba, on the other hand, was selected to play Zaheer, a character eventually enacted by Jimmy Shergill.

A closer look, however, reveals to us that Munnabhai is not the only treasure trove, SRK had made the mistake of ignoring. He had earlier refused the role of Bhuvan in the academy award nominated ‘Lagaan’. Director Ashutosh Gowariker had first approached Aamir, who being the movie’s producer wasn’t too keen on acting in it. He, therefore, went to Shahrukh, a person who turned out to be even less keen than Aamir about playing Bhuvan.

So, what exactly had made SRK reject meaty roles like Bhuvan’s in Lagaan and then Munna’s in Munnabhai MBBS? If a busy schedule and non-availability of dates kept him from accepting Lagaan, then when it came to Munnabhai, Khan was not too sure of the first-time director Rajkumar Hirani’s prowess behind the camera.

Amitabh Bachchan: Mr.India and Slumdog millionaire

Shekhar Kapur’s iconic sci-fi, ‘Mr. India’ was actually scripted with Amitabh Bachchan in mind. At a time when Big B’s career was headed for doom, the film, it goes without saying, would have worked wonders. However, as fate may have it, Amitabh refused to enact a character, a hero per se, who keeps popping in and out of the screen for a better part of the film. The meaty offer was of course grabbed with both hands by Anil Kapoor and the rest, as they say, is history.

Had it been for once, it would have been fine but repeating this for the second time definitely holds water. Amitabh Bachchan again turned down the lead role in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ which then again went to Anil Kapoor. The game of destiny took Slumdog Millionaire to Oscars nomination.

Aamir Khan: Darr

If Shahrukh’s refusal to play Bhuvan became Aamir’s gain, then years before Lagaan had even taken seed, a similar rejection by Aamir gave us ‘Shah Rukh Khan- the star’.

Aamir was initially chosen to play the psychopath in ‘Darr’. Seeing the character’s negative shades, Aamir backed off soon. Of course, what happened is an essential part of Bollywood history. SRK became a part of Yashraj camp and brigade of romantic movies like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Dil Toh Paagal Hai, Mohabbatein.

Hirthik Roshan: Bunty aur Babli, Rang de Basanti, Dil Chahta Hai and Swades

When Hrithik dumpedBunty aur Babli’ for Koi Mil Gaya,he had nothing to worry about much. But his subsequent refusals to be the part of the movies like ‘Swades’ or ‘Rang De Basanti’, we are sure, had Hrithik biting his nails off in disappointment.

So, what actually made Roshan puttar utter so many no’s, when actually he did not have to? In Rang De Basanti, for instance, Hirthik was offered to play the role of Siddharth but our muscle man had his eyes set on Aamir’s role. This, however, is not the only bad career choice made by Hrithik. He had also turned down the offer to play SRK’s character in Swades.

Vivek Oberoi: Hum Tum

Vivek Oberoi’s stint at Bollywood is a saga fraught with indecisions and awkward moments. The instance we are going to talk about now, let us assure you guys, is not an exception either. Oberoi, we hear, had reportedly walked out of ‘Hum Tum’ because he apparently thought, he was worth a lot for the character and the role. Were you serious Vivek?

Twinkle Khanna: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Mrs. Akshaye Kumar had been a Bollywood actress ages ago, is something many of us may not remember today. In a career marked with one bad film after another, the only meaty offer which Twinkle Khanna had probably received was from none other than Kjo himself.

Yes, Twinkle was offered the role of Tina in Johar Junior’s directorial debut ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. Twinkle refused the role because it was too minuscule for her image. By accepting it, in our opinion, she could have at least escaped from the trauma of experiencing an even more minuscule Bollywood career.

Abhishek Bachchan: Company, Saathiya and Masti

In a strange twist of fate, while Abhishek Bachchan’s refusal to be a part of ‘Masti’, ‘Saathiya’ or ‘Company’ became Vivek Oberoi’s gain, but the latter’s real life loss had AB’s baby smiling all the way.

However, we are not complaining. Saathiya without Vivek and Vivek’s erstwhile Saathiya Aishwarya Rai without her Bachchan tag would be a bit like eating cheese sandwich without cheese!

Salman Khan: Baazigar and Chak De India

While the Salman- SRK rivalry has become almost synonymous to the great battles of history, Sallu bhai, it seems, is the man who paved way for SRK’s rise to stardom and glory.

The story rather goes something like this- SRK’s character in ‘Baazigar’ was initially offered to Salman, who even took a keen interest in the script. When showed to Salman’s father Salim Khan, the latter came out with certain suggestions, these apparently, did not go down too well with the director duo Abbas-Mastan. Salman walked out of the movie only to be replaced by the little known telly actor SRK.

Years later, history repeated itself when Salman was offered SRK’s character in ‘Chak De India’. Salman, however, it seemed, is not one to repent. To sum it up, he quipped “If I had done Baazigar then there would be no Mannat standing in Bandstand today” referring to Shahrukh’s sprawling den in Mumbai.

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