One of the most beautiful actresses in B- Town Katrina Kaif is also the highest-paid actress of all time. She started her acting career in Bollywood with filmmaker Kaizad Gustad’s 2003 movie Boom, alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Gulshan Grover, and others.
She rose to fame with Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? which was released in 2005. And there was no looking back for the actress after that. She went on to feature in a series of blockbuster films like Partner, Welcome, Namastey London, New York, Ek Tha Tiger, Dhoom 3, and many more.
However, Katrina Kaif’s journey in Bollywood wasn’t a fairytale as a few flops did crash her blitz at the box office. Moreover, the 39-year-old actress also missed out on some opportunities of working in super-duper hits such as Chennai Express, Gunday, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, etc. that later went on to other actresses.
List of blockbuster movies that were offered to Katrina Kaif and why she turned them down.
7 blockbusters rejected by Katrina Kaif
Chennai Express
Katrina Kaif was the first choice for the role of Meenalochni Azhagusundaram aka Meenamma in Rohit Shetty’s action-comedy drama Chennai Express. However, Kat wasn’t comfortable with the role due to its South Indian background and she turned down the offer, and it was then that the makers approached Deepika Padukone.
Padukone delivered a flabbergasting performance and her chemistry with Khan was also lauded by many. Moreover, the film also broke several box offices records in the domestic and international circuits and emerged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2013.
Barfi!
After sharing screen space with her ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor in the political thriller Raajneeti, Katrina Kaif was offered the role of Shruti Ghosh in Barfi. The filmmaker Anurag Basu was eager to bring Kaif on board, but she turned down the role and the reasons are yet to be known. The filmmaker then passed on the role to Ileana D’Cruz, who delivered a brilliant performance alongside Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.
The film went on to do multi-crores business at the box office and was also selected as India’s official entry at the 85th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Half Girlfriend
The official adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s novel of the same title, Half Girlfriend featured actors Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in prominent roles. The film, however, received mixed reviews. It was helmed by Mohit Suri who managed to do decent business at the domestic box office.
But did you know that the director wanted to cast Katrina Kaif in the lead role? And once again Kaif rejected the role as she felt that she won’t fit in the role of a college student.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
No one can forget the epic character of Naina Talwara from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, the role that was played by Deepika Padukone. it is quite surprising to know that it was initially offered to Katrina Kaif but she turned it down due to other professional commitments.
The Ayan Mukherji directorial went on to break several box office records, it also helped Deepika add another blockbuster to her list of hit films.
Gunday
Popular actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor who are known for their off-screen bromance, set the stage on fire with their camaraderie when they teamed up for Ali Abbas Zafar’s action thriller Gunday in 2014.
The makers wanted to cast Katrina Kaif as Inspector Nandita Sengupta in the film but the actress rejected this offer as well due to other commitments and her busy schedule. The role then went to world-renowned star Priyanka Chopra who was lauded for her performance.
Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela
Once again, Katrina Kaif had the golden opportunity of working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 2013 as she was offered the lead role in Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram Leela, but the actress turned it down due to unknown reasons. The role was then passed on to Deepika Padukone, who teamed up with actor Ranveer Singh and won over the audience and critics with their crackling chemistry. The on-screen duo started seeing each other in real life after this movie and tied the knot after a few years of dating. The film earned more than Rs 200 crore at the box office and emerged as one of the highest-grossing films of 2013.
Bajirao Mastani
Goliyon Ki Raas Leela: Ram Leela and Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani wasn’t the only role that Kaif rejected and Deepika Padukone bagged. According to reports, the filmmaker had even considered approaching Rani Mukerji and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for the roles but ended up casting Padukone and Priyanka Chopra alongside Ranveer Singh in the historical drama that was a blockbuster.
