4 min readAug 2, 2013 12:55 AM IST
The grapevine has been abuzz with news of Deepika Padukone bagging the role opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Farah Khan’s film Happy New Year,which goes on floors in September.
This is because she has had a great year so far with two hits,Race 2 and Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani,or perhaps because her on-screen chemistry with Shah Rukh Khan in Chennai Express looks fabulous.
But what is most interesting is that,Deepika Padukone’s achievement is being hailed as that much bigger because she has,reportedly pipped screen rival Katrina Kaif and several other contenders such as Priyanka Chopra,television actor Anita Lokhande to the post.
While director Farah Khan and producer Shah Rukh Khan have remained tight-lipped about the new developments — all Shha Rukh Khan would say when I inquired about it was that as yet he only knew that he was acting in the film along with Abhishek Bachchan and Boman Irani — but the speculations just refuse to stop.
Ileana D’Cruz’s role in Barfi! is yet another film that was mired in switch-speculation. Word was that Katrina had been approached for the role before she finally declined the offer. Another recent swap-tainted film that comes to mind is this year’s blockbuster romantic drama Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani for which names of Anushka,Deepika and Katrina were being trotted out as contenders. Finally it was Dippy who landed the part,reportedly due to a great on-screen chemistry and the interest their pairing aroused,courtesy their past relationship.
While casting coups are commonplace enough given the ups and downs in the star barometer,they are often blamed on date crunch,financial demands,starry tantrums and so on. Speculations get a whole new spin if professional rivals are in the fray,or if there is talk of foulplay — as in an actor who was promised the part is dropped in favour of another. Sometimes it is the actor who may drop out of a project due to a more lucrative project and so on on. Whatever be the cause,cast alterations and the Chinese Whispers surrounding casting coups are almost as interesting to cinema lovers as gossip about film stars’ personal lives. And then,of course,there is the whole publicity paraphernalia built around a star that thrives on such news.
Therefore,it is not uncommon for film stars to ask their publicists to leak a story about a project they were approached for. And occasionally even projects they wish they had been approached for. After all,such stories make a star or a newbie appear to be the most desirable commodity. The flip side of the story is that film-makers have a tough time keeping things under wraps. Even the most seasoned maker gets all shifty and uncomfortable every time the subject is broached. They either lie with a poker face or hesitantly mumble an apologetic alibi because spilling the beans may work for an actor but it makes it tougher for the director to convince the “second choice.”
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Among my favourite second-choice stories though,is the one that veteran Yash Chopra narrated in a conversation to Shah Rukh Khan,on his 80th birthday,shortly before he passed away. He revealed that initially Smita Patil and Parveen Babi had been signed on to play the roles that eventually went to Jaya Bachchan and Rekha in Silsila. One is not aware of the magnitude of press coverage this change of casting plan received at that time but Yashji,as he was fondly referred to,lived to tell the spicy tale.
In the movies,there is evidently no certainty like uncertainty,especially in the casting roulette.
