It’s not uncommon to hear of Bollywood stars receiving a golden ticket to Hollywood. How often, on the other hand, have we heard the news in the opposite direction? Following claims that Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed, rather than Shahid Kapoor, was the initial choice for ‘Udta Punjab,’ we also found that a slew of big-name Hollywood stars who were actually considered for roles in some of Bollywood’s greatest films.
If the makers of ‘Udta Punjab’ had their way, Oscar candidate Riz Ahmed would have portrayed Tommy Singh, who was eventually played by Shahid Kapoor. According to the newest rumors, the producers ‘dabbled’ with the notion of casting Riz as the male protagonist since they wanted to stay loyal to the character’s British heritage and didn’t conceive of a Bollywood actor for the part.
It may come as a shock to you, but ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ which made Shah Rukh Khan the king of romance in Bollywood, had Tom Cruise as its first choice for the male lead character. Aditya Chopra who was directing the movie wished to make an Indo-American project but after getting his ideas rejected by his father Yash Raj Chopra, he had to edit his ideas.
We would have seen Arnold Schwarzenegger opposite Superstar Rajinikanth in ‘2.0’ if it hadn’t been for the peculiarities in Hollywood and Bollywood film contracts. According to filmmaker Shankar, the team not only reached out to the Hollywood star, but also had lengthy discussions and set dates with him, but things fell through due to contract limitations. The crew reached out to Akshay Kumar, who easily accepted because they wanted to cast another huge star to appeal to an international audience.
Nicole Kidman, an Oscar-winning actress, was reportedly being considered for the main female role in Ajay Devgn’s action film ‘Shivaay’ back in 2015. According to rumors at the time, the team was eager to bring the actress on board and they were “in talks” to cast her opposite Devgn. However, as time went on, the female lead was played by Polish actress Erika Kaar.
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