Hrithik Roshan, Aditya Roy, Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor Refused To Play A Homosexual In This Film?

Alia Bhatt recently celebrated her 31st birthday. On the professional front, the actress was last seen in her 2023 Hollywood debut, Heart of Stone, in which she shared screen space with Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan. The actress also expedited her prowess as a producer in the recently released series Poacher. Though Alia has had a largely celebrated career, this particular title from her filmography encountered expansive casting blocks with multiple actors turning down a crucial role.

This Alia Bhatt film was rejected by six actors

As per a recent report, a rather popular 2016 film, with Alia Bhatt in the lead, was personally offered by the project's producer, to not one, but four heroes. Each of the four hefty Bollywood names however, opted to reject the film. The role in question, eventually went to Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

The film, is none other than 2016 release Kapoor and Sons. The Shakun Batra directorial saw Alia Bhatt share screen space with not just Fawad Khan but also ex-beau Sidharth Malhotra. The film profiled a dysfunctional family with sibling conflict as the core of the same. Incidentally, the film also featured Alia share screen space with her now-deceased father-in-law Rishi Kapoor. Kapoor and Sons also starred Rajat Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah.

What was the controversy surrounding Fawad Khan's role in Kapoor and Sons?

As per a piece in Open Magazine, a total of six actors rejected Fawad Khan's role in the film - that of Rahul Kapoor. The primary reason cited for the same in the piece, was that the character in question was gay.

An excerpt reads, "As many as half a dozen actors are believed to have turned down the role of the elder brother in Shakun Batra’s recent hit Kapoor & Sons, before the makers approached Fawad Khan. Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Shahid Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapoor were all approached. While some explicitly admitted that they didn’t want to play a character that happens to be gay, others reportedly cited different excuses...Farhan, whom Shakun had assisted previously, said he loved the film but didn’t see himself playing the older sibling..." Kapoor and Sons is currently streaming on Netflix.