To set a mark in the global audience is the ultimate dream of actors. Bollywood actors are also in search for such opportunities in order to establish their footprint successfully in Hollywood for a larger audience worldwide. Some of the Bollywood stars have made it big in their filmography careers in Hollywood. Many actors also refused the opportunity to work in some Hollywood project. Stars like Om Puri, Irrfan Khan, Priyanka Corpora, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anil Kapoor became very popular after working in several Hollywood projects.
On the other hand, some Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar turned down offers in Hollywood movies. Some actors of Hindi cinema also said yes to Hollywood movies for minimum screen time and exposure.
Here is the list of Bollywood actors who missed some incredible Hollywood movies offered to them.
Shah Rukh Khan: Slum Dog Millionaire
King Khan is undoubtedly a global charmer, although he did not do any Hollywood project till date, he had got the perfect role but the actor decided to let go of the golden opportunity. It turned out that Slumdog Millionaire won the academy award.
SRK blew off the opportunity to play Anil Kapoor’s character in Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ This movie could be King Khan’s grand debut in Hollywood. Reportedly, the actor thought that the role he was offered was not good enough. Actor Anil Kapoor took on the role and hence global opportunities opened up for him.
Deepika Padukone: Furious 7
Fast and Furious is a series of action film which has a gem of a cast in every film. This series is considered as a vehicle that has huge fan followings for actors like Paul Walker and Vin Diesel.
Furious 7 is the 7th installment of this action-based movie series where a rogue assassin Deckard Shaw from the special force, is looking for avenging his brother Owen. This movie was exceptional as well as this was the last appearance of Paul Walker, who died in a car crash. In Furious 7, Deepika Padukone turned down the opportunity to set an example of professionalism because the actress was all booked up with Farah Khan’s ‘Happy New Year.’ Many praised and appreciated the decision Deepika made for being loyal to her mentor but in the long run she lost a huge international market.
Akshay Kumar costarring Dwayne Johnson
Akshay Kumar is famous for doing his movie stunts by own. He is also a great action star in Bollywood cinema. He was supposed to join the row of the most robust stars like Van Damme, Jean Claude, Janson Statham, and Jackie Chan. They were looking for an Asian face who was known for his action stunts. Akshay Kumar was the choice to play the role for this cast as well as for representing an Asian face. As a replacement, the role finally landed in Dwayne Johnson’s lap. Akshay Kumar blew off the offer and stood clear with his decision of clearing his filmography record Hollywood free.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – Troy
Aishwarya is not a newbie to the Hollywood scene. She was offered a Hollywood role in one of the most significant Hollywood projects opposite all-time heartthrob, Brad Pitt. The name of the role was ‘Briseis’ which Ash was offered by the director of the movie Wolfgang Petersen. It was for the Oscar-nominated war film ‘Troy.’ Aishwarya refused the role due to the demand of intimacy scenes with Brad Pitt and she did not feel right about the role as she had a clean image in India and wanted to keep it that way.
Rohit Roy- Zero Dark Thirty
Rohit Roy is an exceptional actor in the Bollywood industry; even Hollywood noticed his depthful screen presence. Rohit Roy was offered a role in an Oscar-winning war film, ‘Zero Dark Thirty’. But he had to let go of the opportunity for other professional commitments as he was shooting for his movie, “Student of the Year.” The actor missed the chance with a heavy heart.
Priyanka Chopra, left, and Nick Jonas
Priyanka Chopra- Immortals
Priyanka Chopra has a massive fanbase across the world through her Hollywood presence. She was offered a vital role in one of the famous movies in America, ‘Immortal.’
No matter how generous that offer was, Priyanka Chopra let the opportunity go because of her pre-commitment to her Bollywood film “7 Khoon Maaf.” The role finally went to Freida Pinto. Priyanka’s loss benefitted Frieda Pinto and hence Priyanka had to wait her time out to get another offer for later.
Hrithik Roshan – Pink Panther 2
Hrithik Roshan, also known as Bollywood’s Greek God, was offered a role in the comedy thriller, Pink Panther 2. Hrithik was offered the role of ‘Vincent’ in the sequel of the Pink Panther franchise. Hrithik Roshan turned down the opportunity as he was busy with his other projects.
Irrfan Khan- Interstellar
In an international interview, Irrfan Khan was asked why he wanted to work in Hollywood, where his fee would be less than the amount he receives in Bollywood. He replied that he wanted to challenge the limit of his acting capability and push it further.
Irrfan Khan became a popular actor after his movie “The Slumdog Millionaire” and he was signed for many Hollywood projects like Life of Pie, Jurassic World, The Amazing Spiderman, and Inferno. Interstellar, could have also be in the list of Irrfan Khan’s Hollywood movies but the actor had date issues and hence chose to give up the role which went to Matt Damon. Irrfan chose to stick to his projects and complete the Indian project, D-Day and The Lunchbox. Recently on the 29th April, 2020 Irrfan Khan, passed away at the age of 53 after suffering from cancer.
Madhuri Dixit
Reportedly, Madhuri Dixit was offered a role in a Hollywood project where she had to play a cameo of herself in a dream where an American girl wants to pursue a Hollywood actress’s life. The story of this film was based on the journey of the girl becoming a Hollywood actress. But Madhuri Dixit turned down the offer considering the length of the character despite offering a large pay by the production.
Well, hit and miss are part of every journey, but turning down an opportunity means a direct denial to the entry into the world’s biggest industry.
