Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra's rumoured cat-fight dominated the headlines back in the day. The root of this fight might be traced back to the shooting of the Abbas-Mustan film Aitraaz (2003), featuring Akshay Kumar in the lead. In a recent conversation with Bollywood Bubble, director-producer Suneel Darshan revealed Kareena could have taken the role of Priyanka in the film.
What's Happening
Suneel Darshan shared that Kareena did a "big mistake" by letting go of a character, which eventually shaped Priyanka's career.
"There are times when actors miscalculate. At that time, a negative role was still viewed as something like a vamp. And the fact that Priyanka was cast alongside Amrish Puri as his wife, so it felt more like a Shashikala-type role. You know, like the ones Shashikala or Bindu used to play in older films. But with time, narratives change, and so do perspectives. And I thought to myself, my God, Bebo (Kareena) made such a big mistake," said Suneel Darshan.
The producer-director believed that Kareena could have taken Priyanka's part as she was offered the film first.
"But Bebo is Bebo. She always wanted to glide through everything easily. She lost out on that role because she chose not to do it. She picked the heroine's part opposite the hero. She could have taken Priyanka's role too, but she didn't," said Suneel Darshan.
Praising Priyanka Chopra's courage to take up a grey character, Darshan said, "Priyanka was at a stage where she was on the rise. She was the go-getter. Whatever she wanted, she went after and got it. And that role justified something that wasn't considered normal, it made you believe in it."
Kareena-Priyanka's Changing Dynamics
Kareena and Priyanka Chopra kept the rumoured catfight alive by taking subtle and not-so-subtle digs at each other over the years. On various seasons of Koffee with Karan, both stars made sharp comments about each other.
Interestingly, the two actresses shared a couch on Koffee with Karan in 2019 during its sixth season, where they showed a fresh new bond, laughing at their old comments.
In a 2023 interview with Mid-Day, When asked directly if there was ever tension with Priyanka, Kareena responded, "Not at all! Rubbish. I was like, 'What is going on?'"
In A Nutshell
Director-producer Suneel Darshan said Kareena Kapoor made a big mistake by not choosing Priyanka's character in the film Aitraaz.