Career Blunders in Bollywood, What Bollywood Actors and Actresses Missed On

Let us look at how rejects of some actors made stars of others!

Pradeep Sarkar was miffed over Vidya Balan having rejected Konkona Sens' role in Laga Chunari Mein Daag. The smart girl stuck to her role in Heyy Babby and rejected LCHD. The verdict was out: Vidya Balan had a cent percent success rate in Bollywood for 2007 with hits like Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiya . Good for her that she did not do LCMD! Now let us look at some of the career blunders, mistakes that actors and actresses of Bollywood have made. Let us look at the original choices of the hit Bollywood movies which were to star with actors who eventually walked away! Though they may say that bygones and bygones, they cannot refute the fact that these movies would have definitely made them bigger stars if not legends:

Shahrukh Khan: Rejected Lagaan and Munnabhai MBSS. Wonder how bigger he'd have risen if he had been a part of these movies. Unfortunately SRK was busy to allocate time for Lagaan and he was unsure about how the first time Raj Kumar Hirani would direct the film. Shahrukh Khan also rejected the role of flight lieutenant Ajay Rathod because he found that the role did not have sufficient depth and also because of the fact that he did not want to play second fiddle to Aamir Khan in Rang De Basanti. The role eventually went to Madhavan. Imagine how Rang De Basanti would have looked if Aamir, Shahrukh and Hrithik were in the movie! But the most commendable thing is Rang De Basanti still emerged a huge hit and a cult favorite even without star power of Hrithik and SRK.

Aamir Khan: Rejected Darr because he was conscious of the negative image and he was also denied a joint script reading with Sunny Deol. This really turned SRK's career on the upswing as he won the confidence of the Yash Chopra camp. Movies like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Dil Toh Paagal Hai, Mohabbatein and the ilk are the pleasant aftereffects which SRK relished.

Salman Khan: Rejected Baazigar because he thought it wouldn't work. In a humorous dig, Salman Khan has also commented had he starred in Baazigar, he'd also have built Baazigar. Rejected Kal Ho Na Ho(which ultimately went to Saif Ali Khan). Rejected Chak De India. He wanted a high amount of money for Chak De India

Kareena Kapoor: Though she is famous, she'd have got have easily been a top bracket star. Look at the movies that she dropped out of: Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, Page 3, Kal Ho Na Ho. All these three movies were written with Kareena Kapoor in the mind but she had other priorities. Kareena Kapoor reportedly told Karan Johar in Koffee with Karan that she regretted missing out on Kal Ho Na Ho. Most of her reasons for not doing these movies were monetary.

Hrithik Roshan: He dropped out of Bunti aur Babli because he was busy with Koi Mil Gaya. He missed out on three good movies: Rang De Basanti, Dil Chahta Hai and Swades. Hrithik Roshan was to do Siddarth's role in Rang De Basanti. But Hrithik wanted to do Aamir's role. Rakesh Roshan on the other hand stated that Hrithik Roshan could not do the role because he was busy doing Krrish. There was another actor who walked out of the role due to creative differences. Read on to know more. Hrithik Roshan was also offered the role of Saif Ali Khan in Dil Chahta Hain which he did not do. Saif's career skyrocketed from Dil Chahta Hai. Hrithik Roshan also could not do Swades because of date problems.

Aishwarya Rai: Aishwarya Rai was the original choice for the movie 'Chalte Chalte' SRK's home production. She had even shot for some scenes. However there was always problems on sets due to intervening of Salman Khan while his then girlfriend Aishwarya Rai would work. There was an instance when Salman pursued Ash all the way to the sets and created a ruckus. SRK did not take this too politely and removed Ash from the movie. In walked Rani Mukherjee as Ash was shown the exit.

Vivek Oberoi: He walked out of Hum Tum because he thought he was worth a lot for the role The film eventually went to Saif Ali Khan. It is Viveik's biggest career regret because Saif Ali Khan got the Filmfare best actor in a comic role and also the National Award for the Best Actor.

Twinkle Khanna: Rejected Kuch Kuch Hota Hai thinking it was a minuscule role. Though the role was small, I am sure it would been impactful than the entire set of sloppy movies the actress did in her career!

Bipasha Basu: She was the original choice for the Dhoom babe, the role which eventually went to Rimmi Sen.

Akshay Kumar: Lost out on a dream debut 'Phool Aur Kaante' which went 

Best Bollywood Actor and Actress

 was the year of inane comedies and theme oriented movies. Quality was appreciated and slapstick humor were digested without a burp. On one hand, we had the inane, slapstick comedies like Golmaal Returns and Singh is Kinng as big hits, there were also few surprises in the form of Aamir, Mumbai Meri Jaan and A Wednesday. This triumvirate of theme based movies, based on terror acts and bomb blasts were high on quality and appreciated by both the critics and the masses. A Wednesday particularly stood out for its engaging dialogues and script sense. Towards the end of the year, the two Khans dominated the Bollywood scene. While Shahrukh Khan scored with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Aamir Khan's Ghajini became the biggest hit of the year, raking in as much as whopping Rs. 33 crores world wide in the first day itself. At the point of writing, Ghajini is still riding very strongly and hopes to reach the magical figure of Rs. 100 crores in three weeks.

Among the guys, the year did not belong to one particular actor like it did for Akshay Kumar in 2007. The biggies Akshay Kumar (Singh is Kinng), Shahrukh Khan (Rab Ne), Hrithik Roshan (Jodhaa Akbar), Saif Ali Khan (Race) and Aamir Khan (Ghajini) had all one hit each. Oops, one big name is missing. Ah! there you are: Salman Khan. Salman had a bad year professionally. Two of his movies, God Tussi Great Ho and Yuvvraaj, flopped miserably at the box office.

Among the veterans, Naseeruddin Shah had a good year with two big hits, A Wednesday and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Amitabh Bachchan did not have a good 2008 with God Tussi Great Ho, Bhootnath and the Last Lear not doing well. The only saving grace was an average Sarkar Raj. But his box office status is unfazed. Son Abhishek Bachchan had a mega flop in the form of Drona and a semi hit in the form of Dostana. John Abraham also had Dostana to his credit while Emran Hashmi was safe and secure with Jannat doing well. Ajay Devgan had a disastrous directorial debut U,Me aur Hum in which he acted. Fortunately, he had one hit Golmaal Returns to his credit. Shreyas Talpade had two hits in the form of Golmaal Returns and Welcome to Sajjanpur. Shahid Kapur had to be content with an above average Kismet Konnection.

Among the girls, perhaps no one suffered so much professionally as Priyanka Chopra. In the same vein, we can say perhaps no one benefited as much in 2008 as Priyanka Chopra. Priyanka Chopra starred in four of the worst flops of 2008: Love Story 2050, Drona, God Tussi Great Ho and Chamku. However a strong performance oriented role in Fashion, turned the tide for heels. Following close on the heels of Fashion, was Dostana. Priyanka Chopra had an average year in 2008. Kareena Kapoor looked hot and sexy in 2008, but her size zero figure could not save Tashan from being the worst film of 2008. Kareena Kapoor was able to salvage some glory in Golmaal Returns. Minissha Lamba donned a sexy avatar which did not help Kidnap at all. However, she achieved some solace in Bachna Ae Haseeno. Deepika Padukone had one hit, as well in the form of Bachna Ae Haseeno. Rani Mukherjee and Amisha Patel, both flopped again this year with their only film Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic losing out. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had a hit in Jodhaa Akbar while Katrina Kaif scored in Race and Singh is Kinng. Her other movie Yuvvraaj sank without a trace. Vidya Balan had a semi hit in Kismet Konnection. Bipasha Basu, arguably, the sexiest actress of 2008, is the only actress with 100 percent success rate. The oomphilicious Bipasha Basu, sexy and sassy had two hits, Race and Bachna Ae Haseeno to her credit.

There were two South Indian beauties who appeared in Bollywood, one in a changed avatar and the other making a fresh appearance. Genelia D'Souza who had previously starred in Masti, years ago, starred in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, the youth hit, as a teeny bopper. Her fantastic performance and cute looks earned her a legion of fans. Asin, another southern sensation debuted in the biggest Bollywood hit of 2008, Ghajini. Asin's performance is being widely appreciated. The other list of female newcomers in Bollywood include: Anushka Sharma (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), Sonal Chauhan (Jannat) and Adah Sharma (1920).

Among the guys making debut in Bollywood, Imran Khan, nephew of Aamir Khan had a fantastic debut in one of the biggest hits of 2008, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. However he couldn't follow it up with his second movie Kidnap biting the dust. Another new comer, Harman Baweja, Priyanka Chopra's boyfriend, starred in one of the worst films of 2008, Love Story 2050. Incidentally both Jaane Tu and Lovestory 2050, released on the same day. Rajneesh Duggal debuted in 1920 while Mithun Chakraborthy's son Mimmoh had a pathetic flop in the form of Jimmy, as his debut film. Here's hoping 2009 sees better movies, better performances and better surprises!

V.S.ARUNRAJ, in his entertaining blog Bollywood Trends gives a low-down on the news, views, reviews, masala and trends of the biggest and the busiest film industry in the world-Bollywood.