‘Bajirao Mastani’ (2015) was loved not just for its plot, music, direction and period setting but also for its exciting cast, comprising Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Before the trio stepped into the movie, it was offered to many other actors, but as they say, even in the world of making movies, things happen for a reason. Interestingly, Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan were also offered the project and reportedly they shot for poster for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus, which is still on display in his workspace.
This project, which was in development since 2003, was finally released in theatres in 2015. After ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ (1999) enormous success, SLB initially intended to cast Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rani Mukerji. The director wanted to once again capitalize on Salman and Aish’s sizzling chemistry, but after their breakup, it became impossible to cast them together. Following that, a number of names were considered for the role, but nobody was selected.
Following the breakup of Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali made the choice to replace Aish in the production with Kareena Kapoor Khan. Kareena and Salman shot for a poster and had a look test for ‘Bajirao Mastani’ back then. Salman reportedly even cut his hair short for the appearance test. However, things didn’t turn out as the director had hoped. Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Salman later had a serious falling out since he urgently wanted to work on the project but it was just not possible. Notably, the pair never again collaborated together.
