Films that were 'turned down' by Alia Bhatt; from 'Saaho' to 'Neerja'

Alia Bhatt recently shared her first look poster for the upcoming film of director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film titled Gangubai Kathiawadi will unfold the life of a Gujarati woman, who is a brothel owner. Her first looks have garnered appreciation and a positive response from the audience. Her choice of scripts has always highlighted her acting skills.

From Highway to Dear Zindagi, she has delivered many successful films. But there are a few projects too, which she turned down. Check out the list of Bollywood projects Alia Bhatt refused to work on:

Neerja 

For the biopic of Neerja Bhanot, Sonam Kapoor was not the first choice of the makers. Reportedly, Alia Bhatt was approached first for the role but one of the producers of the film was not convinced because of Alia's height. The makers thought that Alia is quite short for the character of an air-hostess. 

Raabta

The film directed by Dinesh Vijan, Raabta stars Kriti Sanon and Sushant Singh Rajput. Reportedly, in many media-interactions, Alia ignored the question that why she turned down the film at the last moment. A few media reports state that due to date issues, Alia Bhatt left the project.

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Golmaal Again

The fourth instalment of Rohit Shetty's Golmaal series was a huge success. The leading lady of the film is portrayed by Parineeti Chopra. But reportedly Rohit Shetty first approached Alia for the leading lady. Just a few weeks before making an official announcement, Alia backed out of the project dut to dates.

It is speculated that there was tension going on between Karan Johar and Rohit Shetty because of which Alia refused to work on it. For the unversed, Alia and Karan share a good bond.

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Saaho

South superstar Prabhas' Saaho released in 2019 and received a positive response from the audience and is a commercially successful film. Reportedly, Alia was in talks with the makers during the pre-production stage of the film. If media reports are something to go by, then Alia Bhatt opted out because of the less screentime of the female lead. 

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Thugs Of Hindostan

The multi-starrer drama starring two of the biggest stars of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan was first offered to Alia. The reports on the table state that Alia refused to be a part of the film. The reposts also add that she backed out because she realised that the female protagonist doesn't have much to do. Later Dangal fame actor Fatima Sheikh was roped in.

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(*Cover image Courtesy: Alia Bhatt Instagram*)