Did you just go 'Whaaaat!' reading that? Well, it’s true.
Yes, the director has said more than once that Kangana Ranaut was his first choice for his next film Rangoon produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. But truth is, she got lucky coz Anne Hathaway turned down the offer. Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor play the male leads in the film.
So the story goes, the director had flown down to Los Angeles and Anne confirmed with him that she was on board.
Hollywood director Mira Nair (known for directing films like The Reluctant Fundamentalist and The Namesake) and who is a good friend of Vishal, arranged a meeting between the Haider director and The Devil Wears Prada star.
Said a source, “Anne was thrilled by the narrative. Its a human story set in the World War 2 and her role was that of a foreigner who gets embroiled in the drama. When Vishal told producer Sajid Nadiadwala that Anne has shown interest, the latter was over the moon.”
You might remember that in the past, Nadiadwala had roped in Sylvester Stallone for his Kareena Kapoor-Akshay Kumar-starrer Kambakkht Ishq.
Anyway, coming back to Rangoon, Saif Ali Khan wasnt a part of the project at that point. It was Hrithik Roshan who was leading the cast then. The source added, The whole idea was to mount the film on an international scale with Hrithik, Shahid Kapoor and Anne.
Vishal was thrilled to bits, knowing that he had pulled off a casting coup of sorts.
And just when he thought all was going hunky-dory, Anne opted out!
Why? Well, we hear, the commercial clauses couldnt be worked out!
A disappointed Vishal returned home and when he was travelling to Paris, Kangana Ranaut happened to be there too. She took Vishal out for dinner and treated him with the most expensive wine on the menu. The duo also discussed the possibility of working together, the source elaborated.
And before you knew it, she was locked for the part originally offered to Hathaway. Lucky you, Kangana!
(Tune in to SpotboyE.com The Show on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 pm and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 1 pm on 9XM)