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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has an impressive filmography. She was amongst the trailblazers to cross over to the West and star in Hollywood films like Pink Panther 2 and Bride and Prejudice. However, the richest actress in India has also said no to several Hollywood film offers, which include a blockbuster movie starring an Oscar winner…
Find out which Hollywood blockbuster film starring an Oscar-winning actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan rejected:
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was offered to work in Troy, starring Oscar winner Brad Pitt in the titular role. The Oscar-nominated film is based on the decade-long Trojan War, with emphasis on Achilles and Myrmidons invading the historical city of Troy, defended by its Crown Prince Hector's Trojan army. Aishwarya was offered the role of Briseis, Princess of Troy, but she said no. The role eventually went to Rose Byrne.
In an earlier interview, according to Indian Express, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan revealed the reason why she rejected Troy, which went on to become a blockbuster at the box office. Aishwarya explained how, unlike Bollywood, when it comes to Hollywood movies, a “green lit” to star in a film leads to the actor/actress being locked off for a period of time due to insurance reasons. This for Rai, at the time, was very new.
“When Troy was spoken about, forget on the script level, they were saying at least 6-9 months to lock off (the schedule) because it is a huge film. We were like, ‘Wow.’ But obviously, we have a way of looking at it like – this is your part…(expressing that her part was not big enough) to lock off that kind of time when I had films here I was committed to, I couldn’t get myself to kick that to the curb. You understand the impact of the cinema (Troy). It is exciting because these are huge offers,” the Ponniyin Selvan star recalled.
Talking about Indian actors crossing over to Hollywood, Bachchan added, “I heard interviews of a lot of my seniors saying there is a glass ceiling to break and it cannot be broken. They believed it cannot happen (here),” before confessing how she wasn’t comfortable with what was being demanded of the character in Troy: “...and I could be the one making that difference if I want to but there are so many things I am not sure I will be comfortable with in the long run.”
“It could be a point proven, I might not be comfortable with it. So, I walked away from a lot of projects. I could see how it would have panned out,” Aishwarya pondered in terms of a predicted reaction from the audience back home. She gave references to how Bride and Prejudice was looked down upon in the Hindi film industry, while Jeans didn’t garner appreciation in North India, but remains a favourite in South India.
Interestingly, in an interview with IANS, Brad Pitt was asked about almost starring opposite Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Troy: “Given a chance, I would like to work with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, because she’s a versatile actor. She is one of the most popular actresses of Bollywood, who has achieved huge acclaim in the west for her style, beauty and acting. I think we missed an opportunity to be cast together for Troy.”
