7 iconic film roles that nearly had different stars

Tom Cruise to star in ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’: Long before Shah Rukh Khan ran through the mustard fields of Punjab and stole a million hearts as Raj Malhotra in Aditya Chopra’s directorial debut, ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, a certain Tom Cruise was being considered to play the now iconic role. There was initial talk of casting Cruise in the 1995 monster hit, but eventually, the makers turned their eyes towards Bollywood and Khan eventually bagged his most iconic role till date, with Kajol by his side.

Omar Sharif to feature in ‘Khalnayak’: This one has been a revelation for a lot of fans of the iconic action-thriller. However, in a recent interview with Mumbai Mirror, filmmaker Subhash Ghai stated that he had initially considered casting legendary Arab and Hollywood star Omar Sharif in the film as Ballu, which was later essayed by Sanjay Dutt, but due to his discomfort with an international project, he returned to Bollywood for his casting.

Dilip Kumar in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’: Omar Sharif may have immortalised the film in cinematic history, however, Bollywood urban legend states that before the Arab star took on the role of Sherif Ali in the 1962 Oscar winner, Dilip Kumar had been offered the role. However, no reason has ever come to light as to why Kumar turned down the role. Although, it can be speculated that the Hollywood production was to be filmed right around the release of ‘Mughal-E-Azam’, which had turned Kumar into the hottest ticket in the Indian film industry when it released in 1960.

Irrfan Khan in ‘Interstellar’: Apparently, Irrfan Khan was the initial choice for Christopher Nolan’s space odyssey. However, the talented Bollywood actor had turn down the role due to prior commitments with other film projects. In an interview with Indian daily, Times of India, Khan stated: “They expected a huge commitment from my end. I had to stay in the US for four months at a stretch. I tried to work out my schedule and suggested if I could shuttle between India and the US as it wouldn’t have been possible for me to be there for that long. I wanted to be here for ‘The Lunchbox’ and ‘D-Day’. They couldn’t allow that. I don’t have a tendency to regret what I do, but knowing it’s a Christopher Nolan film, I can say that this has been one of the most difficult decisions I’ve made.” The role eventually went to Matt Damon.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in ‘Troy’: Rumour has it that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was offered the role of Brisesis in the 2004 Brad Pitt-starrer ‘Troy’, which also featured Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom and Diane Kruger and was directed by Wolfgang Petersen. However, media reports suggested that Rai Bachchan eventually turned down the role as she was uncomfortable shooting intimate scenes with Brad Pitt. Eventually, the role was played by Rose Byrne.

Ronit Roy in ‘Zero Dark Thirty’: The 2012 film directed by Kathryn Bigelow went on to win critical acclaim. But few know that Indian film and TV actor Ronit Roy had been offered a role in the war drama. “I was offered a very interesting role in ‘Zero Dark Thirty’. But unfortunately, I couldn’t do it due to date problems,” Roy told Times of India, adding that he regretted not being a part of the project. However, due to his commitment to Karan Johar’s ‘Student of the Year’ in Thailand, Roy had to turn down the plum project.

Govinda to star in ‘Avatar’: A lot has been said about Govinda’s statement that James Cameron had offered him the lead role in his hit 2009 film that starred Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in the lead. For the uninitiated, in an interview last year with Rajat Sharma of ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, Govinda had proclaimed that Cameron had offered him the film initially, however, the Bollywood actor rejected the role as he didn’t fancy applying blue paint on his body. Govinda further added: “I gave the title of the film (Avatar). It turned out to be a super hit film. I had informed him (Cameron) that the film will do really well.” The film went on to become a hit while Govinda earned a place in history as Twitter’s favourite meme.