Govinda Once Revealed The Reason For Refusing Shah Rukh Khan’s Devdas & Aishwarya Rai’s Taal ( Photo Credit – Instagram; IMDb )
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Govinda has enjoyed an undisputed reign and was, at a point, touted as the king of comedy for his brilliant comic timing. He ruled along with David Dhawan. However, while he was ruling, there were many more brilliant offers the actor passed, and those offers might have been the biggest mistakes of his career.
Two of these films were Shah Rukh Khan’s Devdas & Akshaye Khanna’s Taal. Both of the films had Aishwarya Rai as the lead actress, and Chi Chi rejected them both. The reason was discussed by him later in an interview. However, while he rejected Subhash Ghai’s film, it was reported that he did not like the title Taal and suggested to change it.
However, the exact reason was stated by Govinda in an interview where he blamed his stardom for rejecting both legendary films. He was offered Chunnilal’s role in Devdas which Jackie Shroff later played. He was offered the part played by Anil Kapoor later in Taal. Scroll down more to read why he rejected both the roles.
In an interview with Film Companion, the Hero No.1 actor said, “Jis waqt maine Devdas refuse ki thi us waqt maine Taal bhi refuse ki thi. Ye do jo hain desh ke mahaan shaksiyaton mein se character hain. Parantu main us waqt top pe tha aur mujhe laga pata nahi accept hounga kya?
When translated, it says, “When I had turned down Devdas, I also refused Taal the same time. Both the characters went to become iconic hits but I was on top of my game at that point and I didn’t know if people would accept me in a character role or not!”
While Govinda was worried about playing character roles, who vouched for his dedication saying, “Maine kahaa ki mujhe har waqt sochna padega ki main chunnilal ka qirdaar play kar raha hun. Phir wo mujhse irritate ho jaayenge ki Govinda kitne sawaal poochta hai. Mujhe accha lagta hai samaa baandhne mein. Meri imaandaari par kabhi sawaal nahi utha. (I thought to myself that I’d keep reminding myself that I was playing CHunnilal in the movie. And I would ask multiple questions that could upset the makers. I like to get into the skin of the characters and understand the sitations around them, they make my characters memorable. If nothing else, the audience at least would know I’ve played my part honestly. I would not want anyone to suspect my honesty towards my work.)
On the work front, Govinda’s last big-budget films were Kill Dill & Happy Ending in 2014, where he played supporting roles to Ranveer Singh and Saif Ali Khan. He bagged a Filmfare nomination for both supporting roles.
