Did You Know? Saif Ali Khan REJECTED Bombay Velvet For 2 Years While Ranveer Singh Managed To Raise Mere Rs 40-50 Crores! (Details Inside)
'Bombay Velvet,' directed by Anurag Kashyap, is one of the biggest flops in Hindi cinema history. When it was revealed, the film was much anticipated due to the collaboration of three industry heavyweights: Ranbir Kapoor, Karan Johar, and Anurag Kashyap. The picture, however, was a box office flop. But did you know that Ranbir Kapoor was not the film's first choice? Kashyap then collaborated with Saif Ali Khan on 'Sacred Games.'
(Also read: Vikram Vedha: Saif Ali Khan Talks About How CHALLENGING It Can Be To Alter One's Point Of View! (Details Inside))
Anurag Kashyap's invitation to play Johnny Balraj was turned down by Saif Ali Khan. The script for the film was completed in 2006. Kashyap was not regarded as an ideal commercial director at the time. Following Saif's rejection, the film was offered to Aamir Khan, who declined for reasons best known to him.
After Aamir Khan turned it down, the film made its way to Hrithik Roshan. According to sources, Hrithik held the film's script for two years but never answered. Nobody knew if he read it or not. In an interview, Anurag Kashyap discussed the difficulties faced by actors who rejected the film.
In an old interview in 2015, “The director recently revealed that at the time, he wasn’t an accomplished director so that’s probably why actors didn’t pay much heed to his scripts. He said that Saif refused to read the script, and that’s when Aamir was roped in. And although Hrithik took the script, he didn’t read it for another 2 years; while Kareena only ‘considered’ reading it.”
Anurag Kashyap revealed in another interview in 2014, “My first choice when I wrote the film in 2006 was Saif Ali Khan. From there it went to Aamir and Hrithik. This film has gone around before landing with Ranbir. We also tried to make it with Ranveer Singh but we could raise only Rs 40 to 50 crore.”
The 'Manmarziyaan' director went on to say, “Bombay Velvet’ was expensive from the beginning. It is the most tight-budget film of my career. It is a Rs 300 crore movie that we have made into Rs 90 crore. I wanted someone who was not only a good actor but also made it possible for me to raise that kind of money.”
Later, Anurag Kashyap slammed Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor for turning down his film. He never reacted to Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan's rejection of the project, and when he realised, he wasn't trustworthy enough at the moment, he offered them 'Bombay Velvet.'
'Bombay Velvet' bombed at the box office, and Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma bore the brunt of the blame for a long time. They then began making jokes about the film itself. Kashyap, on the other hand, has never regretted making the film and has always defended it.
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