Salman Khan,Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and other stars who turned down the most incredible roles in Bollywood

A role that comes in Bollywood stays in Bollywood. Grabbing a role rejected by somebody else can turn out to be one of the best decisions for the stars in Bollywood. A lot of times, an actor’s fate may be written not by his own hands but by the decisions of his or her co-actors.

Destiny is a big thing. Time and again, Bollywood has proved this to us.

We bring you the list of legendary roles that were turned down by few actors only to be grabbed by others that ended up making the movies hit at the box office!

1. Saif Ali Khan, ‘Dilwale Dulhania le jayenge’

Yes, this is unbelievably true. Somehow, Saif Ali Khan was the first choice for ‘DDLJ’ 19 years back. It is so tough to imagine the iconic character Raj to be somebody else other than Shah Rukh Khan!

2. Hrithik Roshan, ‘Dil Chahta Hai’

For Aakash in the iconic friendship trio Sid-Sameer-Aakash, the first choice of the director was Hrithik Roshan and not Aamir Khan. Hrithik did say yes to movies like ‘Mai Prem Ki Deewani hoon’ though.

3. Kareena Kapoor, ‘Goliyon ki Rasleela: Ram-leela’

Apparently, Deepika Padukone was not the first choice for the role of Leela in this sensuous film. Imagine the duo Kareena Kapoor and Ranvir Singh playing Ram Leela. A disaster is indeed prevented.

4. Katrina Kaif, ‘Yeh Jawaani hai Deewani’

As shocking as this is, Katrina Kaif was approached first for the role of Naina in ‘YJHD’. Much more shocking is the fact that she rejected it.

5. Ranbir Kapoor, ‘Delhi Belly’

The chocolate boy was the very first preference for ‘Delhi Belly’. Owing to the adult dialogues in the movie, he decided to let the script go off his hands.

6. Shatrugan Sinha, ‘Sholay’

Can we ever get past the trend setters Jai-Veeru in ‘Sholay’? Had Shatrugan Sinha accepted the role instead of Amitabh Bachchan, ‘Tumhara naam kya hai.. Basanti’ would have been ‘Khamosh.. Basanti.’

7. Twinkle Khanna, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’

Even today when we hear the name Tina, a picture of Rani Mukherjee suddenly flashes in front of our eyes. Thanks to Twinkle Khanna, Rani Mukherjee got one of her blockbusters!

8. Danny Denzongpa, ‘Sholay’

‘Kitne aadmi the?’, the classic dialogue may not have been as impactful had it not been Amjad Khan playing Gabbar in ‘Sholay’.

9. Akshay Kumar, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’

The prolific portrayal of Milkha Singh by Farhan Akhtar was only possible because Akshay Kumar rejected the offer. Akshay, you did make a huge mistake.

10. Shah Rukh Khan, ‘Rang De Basanti’

Even King Khan has his own list of regrets. Ajay Rathod, played terrifically by R. Madhavan was initially offered to Shah Rukh Khan. Had it been accepted by him, 2 Khans would have shared the screen!

11. Dev Anand, ‘Zanjeer’

Had things gone well with Dev Saab, the angry young man title would have been his instead of Amitabh Bachchan’s.

12. Amitabh Bachchan, ‘Mr.India’

For us, ‘Mr. India has always been synonymous to Anil Kapoor. However, he was not really the first choice for this role. This role went to Anil Kapoor only after Big B rejected it.

13. Kajol, ‘Veer Zaara’

Kajol, surprisingly has a long list of rejections. One of the most shocking is the fact that she missed the role of Zaara in ‘Veer Zaara’. Preity, you just got lucky!

14. Vivek Oberoi, ‘Hum Tum’

Evidently, the role of cartoonist in the movie was offered to Vivek Oberoi first and not Saif Ali Khan. We couldn’t have been more thankful to you Vivek.

15. Salman Khan, ‘Chakk de India!’

It seems Sallu bhai has a greater role to play in Shah Rukh’s fame story. Paving the way for SRK, Salman Khan surrendered the role of Coach Kabir Khan.