Actress Bhumika Chawla spoke about how she was replaced in films like Jab We Met and Munna Bhai MBBS despite delivering a hit Tere Naam.
Bhumika Chawla caught everyone’s attention as the coy Nirjala in Salman Khan starrer Tere Naam in 2003. The film was a remake of Bala’s 1999 Tamil romantic drama, Sethu starring Vikram and Abitha. However, despite the film’s massive success, the actress had a tough time when it came to bagging movies.
In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, Bhumika said that while she believes that everything is written in the stars and doesn’t regret anything in her career, there is one sore spot which still hurts her.
The actress revealed that after Tere Naam, she got many film offers. One of them was Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met. At the time, it was supposed to feature Bobby Deol. However, the project didn’t materialise for a variety of reasons and eventually, it got made with a different cast and different production house.
Bhumika told Siddharth, “I got many offers. But I’ve always been selective and choosy about what I do. I had signed a big film after that, and unfortunately, the production changed, then the hero changed, and the film title changed. Then the heroine was changed too). But if I would have done that it would have been different (for me). So, they say, jo likha hai, woh hota hai. I waited for that film for one year and didn’t sign any other film. Later, I signed another film which didn’t happen too. Baki jo ki gayi woh shayad utni chali nahi ya chali, it’s just like a gamble, you don’t know when and which movie will work.”
Speaking about getting replaced in Jab We Met, the Middle Class Abbayi actress shared, “That’s the only time I’ve felt bad about losing a film. I was the first one, Bobby (Deol) and me, when it was called Train. Then, it was Shahid (Kapoor) and me, and then Shahid and Ayesha (Takia), and then Shahid and Kareena (Kapoor). That’s how things happened, but it’s okay. I only felt bad once and then never again because I just move on. I don’t think much about it.”
Further, Bhumika revealed that she had also signed Rajkumar Hirani’s Munna Bhai MBBS but got replaced by Gracy Singh. She said, “Only Raju sir can share this. He told me the reason after 10-12 years when we met at a place. He said ‘Because of somebody’s mistake you were removed from the film’. But it’s okay. This also happens here.” Further, Bhumika was also supposed to be a part of Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamittal. However, that too, didn’t happen.
Bhumika Chawla was recently seen in Salman Khan-Pooja Hegde’s Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan in which she was paired opposite Venkatesh Daggubati.
