Bhumika Chawla recalls being replaced by Kareena Kapoor on Jab We Met: ‘That’s the only time I felt bad’

Bhumika Chawla expressed regret at being replaced in Jab We Met. She said that she was also supposed to do Munna Bhai MBBS, but was replaced in that film too.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | April 26, 2023 09:51 AM IST

4 min read

Bhumika Chawla said that she was cast in Jab We Met.

Listen to this article

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Actor Bhumika Chawla said that everything is written in the stars, and she doesn’t have any regrets about her career. But there is one sore spot that still bothers her till this day. Bhumika said in an interview that she has been replaced in several films, but the one that continues to gnaw at her is Jab We Met, which eventually went on to star Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor.

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Bhumika recalled that she got a lot of big offers after starring opposite Salman Khan in Tere Naam. One of them was Jab We Met. At the time, it was supposed to star Bobby Deol. But for a variety of reasons, the project didn’t materialise, and eventually, it took on a new shape altogether, with a different cast, and different production house.

Asked how her career was impacted after Tere Naam, she said, “I got many offers. But I’ve always been selective and choosy about what I do. Maine ek bahut badi film sign ki thi uske baad, unfortunately production change hogaya, hero change hogaya, movie ka naam hi change hogaya. Sab change hogaya, phir heroine bhi change ho gayi (I had signed a big film after that, and unfortunately, the production changed, then the hero changed, and the film title changed. Then the heroine was changed too). But if I would have done that it would have been different (for me). So they say, jo likha hai, woh hota hai. I waited for that film for one year and didn’t sign any other film. Later, I signed another film which didn’t happen too. Baki jo ki gayi woh shayad utni chali nahi ya chali, it’s just like a gamble, you don’t know when and which movie will work.”

Also read | When Kareena Kapoor got Imtiaz Ali to replace Bobby Deol with Shahid Kapoor in Jab We Met, admitted she didn’t expect much from film

She added, “Ek hi baar mujhe bura laga tha, jab maine Jab We Met sign ki aur nahi hui (That’s the only time I’ve felt bad about losing a film). I was the first one, Bobby (Deol) and me, when it was called Train. Then, it was Shahid (Kapoor) and me, and then Shahid and Ayesha (Takia), and then Shahid and Kareena (Kapoor). That’s how things happened, but it’s okay. I only felt bad once and then never again because I just move on. I don’t think much about it. I had signed Munna Bhai MBBS but it didn’t happen. Kannathil Muthamittal with Mani (Ratnam) sir didn’t happen.”

Previously, Bobby had also expressed disappointment at the manner in which he was replaced in Jab We Met. He implied that Kareena had insisted that Shahid, whom she was dating at the time, be cast opposite her. “I was like, wow. Quite an industry… But I have no hard feelings against him. He is a great director and doing so well. We’re still friends. But I always tell him: ‘Imtiaz, I won’t watch any of your films until you make one with me. That’ll be your best film,” Bobby told HuffPost in 2017.

Jab We Met took Kareena’s career to the next level, and Bhumika went on to star in several high-profile movies in South India. She was recently seen in a supporting role in Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan.

From the homepage