The actor was offered the role of Karan Singhania in 'Rang De Basanti', which was eventually played by Siddharth.
"I had cried while reading the script of the film," shared Kapoor about 'Rang De Basanti'.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Shahid Kapoor is one actor who always looks for content-driven films over formulaic projects. And regardless of the merit of the films that he stars in, his performance always shines on the screen and leaves us in awe. However, there have also been times when his calculations didn't go as per his wish.
The actor, who turned 43 on Sunday and is currently basking in the success of his latest release, 'Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya', revealed in a recent interview that he had turned down the 2006 film ‘Rang De Basanti’, and that he regrets it. He shared that he was offered the role of Karan Singhania, and although he was keen on playing the role, had to turn it down due to his other commitments.
"I regret not doing the film ('Rang De Basanti'). They wanted me to play the role of Siddharth. I’d cried while reading the script and loved it, but unfortunately, I couldn’t make time for it," said Kapoor.
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However, it is worth noting that not only Kapoor, but several other actors also turned the role down, and director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra “struggled a lot” for the part. In this article, let's have a look at who others said 'no' to Mehra for the same role.
Long before 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' happened, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra approached Farhan Akhtar for the role of Karan in 'Rang De Basanti'. Akhtar, who had just directed 'Dil Chatah Hai' and was busy in the production of 'Lakshya' at the time, did not want to venture into acting, and hence, said a 'no'.
As Mehra later shared in an interview, "He was truly amused because he had just made Dil Chahta Hai and was finishing Lakshya. I told him I wanted him to act in my film and he could not believe it at that point of time! I had offered him the part of Karan, which was the only author-backed character in the whole film. Farhan was fascinated. I could see the twinkle in his eyes. He wondered 'What's wrong with this guy who is seeing me act in a film?!'"
The filmmaker added that Akhtar loved the script but "couldn't see himself acting at that point of time".
Yes, after Farhan Akhtar turned the role down, Mehra approached Abhishek Bachchan for the same, who also said 'no'.
Years later, Bachchan shared in an interview that he couldn't grasp the film's narrative because of Mehra. In his words, "That’s when I realized Rakeysh is the world's worst narrator. Just read his script, never get a narration from him. He will confuse you, which he did to me during Rang De Basanti. I didn't understand why are they cutting from time zone to time zone. It was called Painted Yellow in those days. I said, ‘Mujhe samajh nahi aayi, mujhe nahi karni’ (I didn't get it, I don't want to do it). Then he made Rang De Basanti. Next time he came for Delhi-6, I said, ‘Han, kar lo.’ (Ya, let's do it) I didn't even read the script.”
"Greek God" Hrithik Roshan was also approached for the role, however, things did not fall into place.
As Mehra shared in his autobiography, 'The Stranger in the Mirror', "Hrithik Roshan was also spoken to for Karan's role. He loved the script but didn't have the time. I requested Aamir to put in a word with Hrithik Roshan. Aamir even went to Hrithik’s house. ‘It’s a good film—kar le’ (do it). But it wasn’t meant to be."
Unlike the other actors mentioned above, Arjun Rampal actually agreed to do the role and even shot for a few days until, one day, he walked out of the set. As the actor later shared in an interview, "I had a problem with the director. I was signed for the film, I had a new look and blocked my dates. It just became very confusing, because the director was very confused. I’m happy it didn’t work out in a way, because Rakeysh was very confused about the script, he was very erratic, some days he would be like ‘This is the way I want to do it’… and ‘You’re my character, oh are you my character?’ When someone is this confused, it’s best to say ‘I can’t work with you, and good luck’.”
Well, the role was eventually played by Siddharth, who did a fine job. And the film broke several box office records in India, becoming the country's highest-grossing film in its opening weekend. Also, it won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2007 BAFTA Awards.
