Of missed chances & wasted opportunities
They say Opportunity knocks only once and just like how it has been proved in all of our lives, this has happened to our actors/ actresses too. There have been so many occasions before when a role in a movie was supposed to be given to an actor/ actress but was not done eventually bcos that actor/ actress did not want/ could not do the movie due to various reasons, both known and unkown. This has happened to my knowledge both in Hollywood and in our own Kollywood. I have always wanted to blog about this but I have never been able to gather many instances of when it happened to get a decent list of such occurrences. Anyway, I thought I will write down the ones I know of and then leave it to you guys to enlighten me with such instances that you guys might know of. Now on to the list that I know of.
Mudhalvan - The moment I thought about writing about it, Thalaivar's reluctance to do Mudhalvan came to mind almost instantly. I always call that as Thalaivar's biggest mistake to date. When the movie was released and I heard the storyline, I was so mad that Thalaivar did not it. And just bcos of the fact that Thalaivar was supposed to be the one who should have acted in Mudhalvan, I did not want to see the movie and I didn’t do it until some time last year. And when I did see it, my frustration only grew bigger. When Mudhalvan with Arjun could become such a big hit, I wonder what would have happened if Thalaivar had acted, as originally planned. Easily the best missed chance as far as Thalaivar goes. Its not that Thalaivar’s stature would have grown if he had done that movie but still it would have satiated many Thalaivar fans' wish of having him do a high quality movie. My only wish is that Thalaivar and Shankar make up for that loss in Sivaji.
Marumalarchi - I have read reports that Thalaivar & then Vijayakanth were asked (in that order) to do the lead role in the movie, which eventually went to Mammootty. This was one movie I really liked and the role would have suited Thalaivar perfectly. But at the same time, I will have to say that this would have suited him only during the days when Thalaivar acted in movies like Ejamaan. His stature has grown many a fold since then and thus I am not sure how it would suit him today. But I would have loved to see Thalaivar play the Rasu Padaiyaachi character.
Ghajni - Ajith was supposed to act in Ghajni. Though not a good movie by any stretch of imagination, it could have done wonders for Ajith's struggling career. I am pretty sure that Ajith would have found it hard to match what Surya was able to perform in Ghajni. But since it was Asin’s role and the songs that made the film a huge hit, it would not have mattered anyway. I would have been happy if Ghajni rather than Paramasivan was the movie that sort of resurrected Ajith's career.
Kaadhal - Looks like Dhanush was supposed to act in Kaadhal but couldn’t do it bcos he was busy with other movies. This again is a very crucial missed opportunity since inspite of his good showing in Pudhupettai, he is still struggling, after his dream start of 3 consecutive hits. Contrary to what many feel, I have always thought this guy has the necessary acting skills to make it big but only that he has to take extreme caution in picking the roles/ stories that suit him. I thought he was pretty good in Adhu Oru Kanaa Kaalam and thus on the same lines, a movie like Kaadhal would have been perfect for him, to prove both his detractors wrong and also helped him by a big commercial hit. In fact, if Dhanush had acted in Kaadhal, he would have fitted the role of a young mechanic better than Bharath. Bharath has this slightly sophisticated look to him while the pedestrian looks of Dhanush could have come in very handy. Though his performance in Pudhupettai has come in for appreciation all around & the movie has gone on to become a decent hit, I still maintain that this is the biggest missed chance/ blunder of Dhanush.
Aayitha Ezhuthu - Shaam is one actor who has got all the right ingredients to be a successful actor but somehow success has eluded him, even after him being around for more than 5 years in the industry. And he could have had his big break if things had worked out well bcos he was the original choice of Mani for one of the characters in Aayitha Ezhuthu. I am not sure what was the role that Mani wanted him to play (I am guessing it should have been Madhavan's) but whatever role it was, missing a Mani Rathnam movie is a cardinal sin. You don’t get calls from Mani Rathnam every day. I don’t remember the reason why he couldn’t accept the offer but whatever it was, that surely ranks as one of the worst missed chances that somebody like Shaam who is still trying to get a foothold in the industry, should have grabbed with both his hands.
Sethu - Actor Vignesh was supposed to be the one who was originally approached by Bala for Sethu but he refused it to some reason I don’t remember. Isn’t this amazing? This is probably THE biggest missed chance of them all bcos we all have seen what the movie has done to Vikram’s career which had never really taken off until he did Sethu. I am not sure how much talent that Vignesh has. Soori which was supposed to be the movie with his career defining performance didn’t impress me at all. Though we should be happy that the role went to Vikram and made his career click, Vignesh will rue this missed chance forever.
Now, over to you - Is there any other such missed chances that you guys are aware of and I am missing in this list?
Mudhalvan - The moment I thought about writing about it, Thalaivar's reluctance to do Mudhalvan came to mind almost instantly. I always call that as Thalaivar's biggest mistake to date. When the movie was released and I heard the storyline, I was so mad that Thalaivar did not it. And just bcos of the fact that Thalaivar was supposed to be the one who should have acted in Mudhalvan, I did not want to see the movie and I didn’t do it until some time last year. And when I did see it, my frustration only grew bigger. When Mudhalvan with Arjun could become such a big hit, I wonder what would have happened if Thalaivar had acted, as originally planned. Easily the best missed chance as far as Thalaivar goes. Its not that Thalaivar’s stature would have grown if he had done that movie but still it would have satiated many Thalaivar fans' wish of having him do a high quality movie. My only wish is that Thalaivar and Shankar make up for that loss in Sivaji.
Marumalarchi - I have read reports that Thalaivar & then Vijayakanth were asked (in that order) to do the lead role in the movie, which eventually went to Mammootty. This was one movie I really liked and the role would have suited Thalaivar perfectly. But at the same time, I will have to say that this would have suited him only during the days when Thalaivar acted in movies like Ejamaan. His stature has grown many a fold since then and thus I am not sure how it would suit him today. But I would have loved to see Thalaivar play the Rasu Padaiyaachi character.
Ghajni - Ajith was supposed to act in Ghajni. Though not a good movie by any stretch of imagination, it could have done wonders for Ajith's struggling career. I am pretty sure that Ajith would have found it hard to match what Surya was able to perform in Ghajni. But since it was Asin’s role and the songs that made the film a huge hit, it would not have mattered anyway. I would have been happy if Ghajni rather than Paramasivan was the movie that sort of resurrected Ajith's career.
Kaadhal - Looks like Dhanush was supposed to act in Kaadhal but couldn’t do it bcos he was busy with other movies. This again is a very crucial missed opportunity since inspite of his good showing in Pudhupettai, he is still struggling, after his dream start of 3 consecutive hits. Contrary to what many feel, I have always thought this guy has the necessary acting skills to make it big but only that he has to take extreme caution in picking the roles/ stories that suit him. I thought he was pretty good in Adhu Oru Kanaa Kaalam and thus on the same lines, a movie like Kaadhal would have been perfect for him, to prove both his detractors wrong and also helped him by a big commercial hit. In fact, if Dhanush had acted in Kaadhal, he would have fitted the role of a young mechanic better than Bharath. Bharath has this slightly sophisticated look to him while the pedestrian looks of Dhanush could have come in very handy. Though his performance in Pudhupettai has come in for appreciation all around & the movie has gone on to become a decent hit, I still maintain that this is the biggest missed chance/ blunder of Dhanush.
Aayitha Ezhuthu - Shaam is one actor who has got all the right ingredients to be a successful actor but somehow success has eluded him, even after him being around for more than 5 years in the industry. And he could have had his big break if things had worked out well bcos he was the original choice of Mani for one of the characters in Aayitha Ezhuthu. I am not sure what was the role that Mani wanted him to play (I am guessing it should have been Madhavan's) but whatever role it was, missing a Mani Rathnam movie is a cardinal sin. You don’t get calls from Mani Rathnam every day. I don’t remember the reason why he couldn’t accept the offer but whatever it was, that surely ranks as one of the worst missed chances that somebody like Shaam who is still trying to get a foothold in the industry, should have grabbed with both his hands.
Sethu - Actor Vignesh was supposed to be the one who was originally approached by Bala for Sethu but he refused it to some reason I don’t remember. Isn’t this amazing? This is probably THE biggest missed chance of them all bcos we all have seen what the movie has done to Vikram’s career which had never really taken off until he did Sethu. I am not sure how much talent that Vignesh has. Soori which was supposed to be the movie with his career defining performance didn’t impress me at all. Though we should be happy that the role went to Vikram and made his career click, Vignesh will rue this missed chance forever.
Now, over to you - Is there any other such missed chances that you guys are aware of and I am missing in this list?
posted by Filbert at 12:03 PM
11 Comments:
"Autograph" lead role was also offered to top guns and they refused....
Filby, is there some problem with my screen or is your fonts really too small? In comparison with the font size on the left panel which lists the various links, etc. Please make sure the font sizes on the post are same as this. That is the most comfortable reading size.
Filby, I think Shaam was first considered for Sidharth's role in "Aayitha Ezhuthu". I may be wrong though. And yeah Thalaivar not accepting "Mudhalvan" is my biggest disappointment till date. I like that movie very much and that role wud have suited Thalaivar perfectly. Well, as u said, let's hope they make up for that in "Shivaji".
Yeah Cipher, I knew about Cheran asking many actors to do the lead role in Autograph but I never knew who they were. Hence did not add it to the list.
Theriyalaiye Meens. I did reduce the font size but I dont think it is too small to have difficutly even in reading it. But like you said, the font size of the on the left panel and in the posts are different. And I will change them back to bigger fonts soon...
I am sure Mani would have made Shaam look convincing in the role that Sidharth eventually played in AE. But yeah Mudhalavan - when all of my friends said so many good things about the movie, I adamantly refused to see the movie, just bcos it was supposed to have Thalaivar in it.
//the best missed chance as far as Thalaivar goes//
I also thot the same filbert.. thalaivar panniiruntha kalakkalaa irunthirukkum..
I also thot the same for ghajini.. But at that time he was waiting for Bala's Naan Kadavul. But that also not in his hands now :-((
You can literally see Thalaivar written all over that story & screenplay - Shankar would have made Mudhalvan still better with Thalaivar in it.
Didnt know that Naan Kadavul was the reason why Ajith couldnt do Ghajni. Looks like good fortune and Ajith just dont go with each other :(
If I am not wrong, "Jeans" was first offered to Ajit. I am not sure if I can term this a "missed golden/silver/bronze chance" but I guess this certainly can be added to your list.
-Rajesh
Thats again news to me. I never knew that. But I am sure Ajith would have done far better than Prashanth and more importantly, would have looked great alongside Aishwarya. Going through the big list of movies that Ajith has missed out so far (Ghajni, Naan Kadavul, Nandha, Jeans), looks like Ajith deserves a separate list :)
Very well said, Zero. Mudhalvan with Thalaivar would have been surely a watershed. One of the few roles that will fit only someone of Thalaivar's charisma and personality. Like you say, Shankar would have been fine with doing some compromises for Thalaivar. Anyway, now we get a chance to see what Shankar does this time around when his dream - of directing Thalaivar - has come true.
Thanks for the comment, BTW :)
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