- Meghna Reddy, Boom, India, 2003. OK, the Anglo-Indian model’s screen debut was as an eleventh hour substitute for another model, but like the venerable Amitabh Bachchan, KK admitted making what the media called soft-core porn was a mistake. “An uninformed decision,” she said. “I was not aware of the film industry and Indian culture.” Born in Hong Kong, she grew up in Hawaii and London. And made up for her opening lapse with such winners as Malliswari, 2004.
- Bipasha Basu, A Sublime Love Story: Barsaat, India, 2005. When Akshay Kumar was not free to play Arav, neither KK or Aishwarya Rai were interested in being Anna – particularly when America was played South Africa and Mumbai studios.
- Sushmita Sen, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (UK: Ram Gopal Varma’s Indiian Flames), India, 2007. She was happy with the Radha role until director Ram Gopal Varma re-wrote it as “a deviation” named Devi. And Ram called up the far more suitable Sen.
- Ameesha Patel, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, India, 2007. The Hindi film heroinewas first choice for the highly suspicious Radha in the Hindi re-make of the Malayalam1993 psychriatric ghost classic.
- Genelia D’Souza, Yahoo, India, 2009. After sacking his (famously ill-mannered) leading lady, Jiah Khan, director Ken Ghosh first offered her role to KKJ, then Kangana Ranault and finally, Genelia.
- Sonam Kapoor, Neerja, India. 2015. After thoughts about Kaif and Kangana Ranaut, Kapoor was selected for flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, one of the heroines of the terrorist-attacked PanAm flight 73 on September 5th 1986. Kapoor won the National best actress award but when Bhanot’s mother met her, she declared: “My daughter was prettier.” She died on September 5, two days before her 23rd birthday.
- Ileana D’Cruz, Baadshaho, India, 2017. What does a director Milan Luthria do when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan refuses to play Maharani Gayatri Devi? He simply gives the Rajathani queen a new name – Gitanjali – and offers her to Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Shruti Hassan, Kareena Kapoor. D’Cruz and her bodyguard, Ajay Devgan sizzled, not enough to save the movie. Despite bouts of uncertainty that threatened her career, Kaif celebrated 18 years’ stardom in 2018. “It’s quite unheard of for a female star to survive this long. It’s constant reinvention. [Not] just as an actor. I think my life experiences have seeped into my choice of films. I’ve evolved as a person and my choices reflect that.”
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 6