I saw Bharat; and I feel Priyanka Chopra need not lose any sleep over her decision to opt out of the supporting role of Salman’s live-in girlfriend. But the character is a catch for Katrina Kaif who eventually played the role. Kaif has largely done glamorous roles so far and Bharat may just help her on the road to gaining the acting creds that she seems to crave now.
Cast rejuggling has always been part of cinema, even in classic films, and while it has undone some careers, it has also sent the stock soaring for some lucky artistes.
When Prem Pujari actress Zaheeda refused the role of the junkie Janice in Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972) because she didn’t want to play Dev Anand’s sister after playing his leading lady in Gambler, a barely-known actor named Zeenat Aman stepped into her shoes.
The rejected role and the Asha Bhosle song Dum maro dum catapulted Zeenat Aman to overnight stardom and she, ironically, went on to do a spate of romantic films (Ishq Ishq Ishq, Heera Panna, Warrant, Darling Darling) with
Dev Anand.
Man or a woman is condemned to be free to make choices — and the choices don’t always pay off. Often, when an actor turns down a role, it proves to be a turning point for the actor who accepts it.
When Danny refused Sholay (1975) because he had allotted the dates to Feroz Khan for the Afghanistan schedule of Dharmatma, he unwittingly paved the room for a star villain — his replacement, Amjad Khan, became a star after playing the dreaded dacoit Gabbar Singh.
Similarly, Twinkle Khanna refused the role in Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) probably because she felt that Kajol had the stronger role. Instead, Rani Mukherjee, with only the modestly budgeted Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat behind her, was roped in and she made the most of a small role, emerging with flying colours. Also released in the same year was Ghulam and the two films gave Rani the much-needed shot in the arm, establishing her as an A-league star
In two of Karisma Kapoor’s most memorable films, she was not the first choice. Her Aamir Khan co-starrer, Raja Hindustani (1996) was initially offered to Pooja Bhatt who had already featured with Aamir in the successful Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahin.
Pooja declined and Juhi was considered. Juhi had worked earlier with Dharmesh in Lootere but it didn't work out this time around. And Karisma received a windfall. Raja Hindustani is arguably the biggest box-office hit of her career.
Soon thereafter, when Juhi Chawla didn't want to be pitted against contemporary Madhuri Dixit in Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Karisma stepped in ... and aced the role! Both Munnabhai MBBS and
3 Idiots were offered to Shah Rukh Khan first. But it was not to be. Looking back at SRK’s career, these two films would have been welcome pluses.
The beneficiaries of SRK’s fallout with Vinod Chopra’s banner were Sanjay Dutt and Aamir Khan. While Aamir was on a roll even before 3 Idiots, Sanjay Dutt got a fresh lease of life with Munnabhai.
Sometimes, not just one star, but almost the entire star cast undergoes a change. Veteran filmmaker B R Chopra had told me that he had originally planned the lost-and-found saga Waqt (1965) with Prithviraj Kapoor and his three star sons — Raj, Shammi and Shashi.
But eventually, only Shashi Kapoor was cast in the film. Chopra’s friend Bimal Roy sagaciously advised him to change the cast because he reasoned it would be difficult to convince the audience that the famous Kapoor brothers don't recognise each other on screen.
It would require stretching the suspension of disbelief to another level. The cast was changed and Waqt went on to become a superhit.
Krishna Shah expected to catapult Dharmendra and Zeenat Aman to Hollywood with his Rex Harrison-Gina Lollobrigida heist film, Shalimar (1978). But the film began on an inauspicious note when the voluptuous Gina opted out of the film at the nth hour and had to be hurriedly replaced by the lanky Sylvia Miles.
I would have preferred to see Dilip Kumar in the role essayed by Rajendra Kumar in Raj Kapoor’s blockbuster love triangle, Sangam (1964). Made on an epic scale, Raj had originally approached Dilip for the role of Gopal, the sacrificing lover, but Dilip refused.
Raj and Dilip had been cast in the early years of their career by Mehboob Khan in the black and white classic, Andaz (1949) but that was when they were relative newcomers. By the 1960s when Sangam was planned, it would have been a major casting coup to get the two thespians together.
Silsila (1981) was very definitely a casting coup — the adventurous Amitabh Bachchan convinced Rekha and Jaya to step into roles for which Parveen and Smita were being considered and created one of the most sensational casts ever. Now if only director Yash Chopra had worked out a bold, path-breaking story as well.
Finally, what we see on screen is what is real. How another actor could have looked playing a particular character, how he or she would have played it and all the rest is conjecture, but there is no denying that it sets one’s imagination afire.
Dinesh Raheja is an Indian author, columnist, TV scriptwriter, and film historian. In 2017, he initiated The Dinesh Raheja Workshop in which he teaches Bollywood aspirants everything related to the media.
