Way back in the early 2000s, Sanjay Leela Bhansali was gearing up for his magnum opus Devdas, adapted from Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s timeless novel.
Bhansali had his sights set on Shah Rukh Khan for the lead, and for Chunilal, he considered Saif Ali Khan. Of course, things didn’t exactly go as planned. Jackie Shroff eventually landed the Chunilal role.
Why Saif Ali Khan could not be a part of Devdas
There’s been a persistent rumour that Saif turned down the part, but that’s not what happened. Saif himself cleared the air in a 2001 interview with Nilufer Qureshi.
According to him, “Though Sanjay Bhansali thinks I’m silly, let me make it very clear that I didn’t turn him down. There was a miscommunication between us on the price. Also, let me clarify that I didn’t ask for an obscene sum of money. Without getting back to me and discussing the price, Sanjay closed the chapter. Nobody even told me that the negotiations were off till I called back to find out what was happening.”
Even if he’d gotten the part, Saif didn’t feel right for it. He said, “I felt I’d be hopelessly miscast as Chunilal. I didn’t think the role suited Motilal either in Bimal Roy’s Devdas. But at least, Motilal and Chunilal rhyme.”
When Kareena Kapoor did a screen test for the role of Paro
Kareena Kapoor’s story with Bhansali wasn’t much different. She actually did a screen test for the role of Paro, only for the part to go to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Kareena spoke openly about how much it stung: “He screen-tested me for Devdas, gave me a signing amount, then took someone else. That was wrong, it hurt especially because I was at the start of my career. It’s okay, because the day he dropped me, I signed Yaadein. Sanjay hurt me. Even if I have no work, I’ll never work with him.”
Bhansali, on his end, maintained that a screen test didn’t mean a guaranteed role.
Years later, the complicated dynamic between Kareena and Bhansali still pops up. In a chat with Vicky Kaushal, Kareena remarked, “Of course, he is the Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Love and War is actually me and Sanjay. You can tell him that. He will understand. We have love and war.”
Devdas finally hit screens in 2002, directed by Bhansali, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and Madhuri Dixit. The film was celebrated for its dazzling sets, music, and powerhouse performances.
The movie bagged multiple awards and was even India’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, sealing its status as one of Bollywood’s most memorable and grand cinematic adaptations.
