Sunny Deol was the first choice for the following Hindi movies, which later starred the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar.

Around 22 years later, Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel reprised their roles as Tara Singh and Sakeena, respectively, in Anil Sharma’s latest directorial, ‘Gadar 2’. The much-loved film has already broken several box office records, and collected ₹ 7.50 crore on its third Thursday, as reported by Sacnilk.com. With a domestic total of ₹ 481 crore after three weeks of its release, the film is competing with Indian cinema’s highest domestic grossers, including, Pathaan and Baahubali The Conclusion.

Watch the trailer of Gadar 2 here:

Clearly, the period action drama is raking in moolah at the domestic box office, and has minted crores in its third week also.

For the unversed, the 65-year old Sunny Deol started his career with Betaab (1983), and went on to deliver noteworthy performances on the big screen. However, it cannot be ruled out that he has rejected some films, which ended up being critically acclaimed and commercially successful. In fact, those films aided several other actors to become renowned as well. So, as Gadar 2 leaves everyone impressed, let’s take a look at some

Bollywood movies that Sunny Deol turned down but they aided the likes of Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan consolidate their position in Bollywood

1. Kesari

This historical drama, written and directed by Anurag Singh, is based on the battle of Saragarhi of 1897. It tells the tale of brave soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment who fought thousands of tribesmen in order to save their outpost. According to a Times of India report, Sunny Deol was the first choice for the film, but when the actor-turned-politician turned down the role, Akshay Kumar was approached for the same, and he did deliver a noteworthy performance.

2. Deewana

Did you know the makers of Shah Rukh Khan's debut film had wanted Sunny Deol to play the lead role in Deewana (1992)? The role of Ravi Ahuja was earlier offered to Sunny Deol but when he refused the part, the role then was passed on to Rishi Kapoor. According to News18, he could not take up the project as he was already committed to another project.

3. Pukar

Reportedly, Sunny Deol was the first choice to play the role of Major Jaidev Rajvansh in Pukar (2000). But when he turned it down, filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi approached Anil Kapoor, whose outstanding performance in the action thriller even got him honoured with a National Award at the 48th National Film Awards.

4. Lajja

After turning down Pukar, Sunny Deol rwas approached by filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi again, this time for a role in his next multi-starrer Lajja. But due to unknown reasons, the makers ended up replacing Sunny Deol with Ajay Devgn, and it happened just a few days before the film went on floors.

5. Koyla

Did you know Shah Rukh Khan wasn't the first choice for actor-turned-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan's 1997 action thriller Koyla? As per a report in DNA, the makers had approached Sunny Deol for the role but the Gadar 2 actor turned it down because he wasn't convinced of the story. Not to miss, Koyla was not only critically acclaimed but it also went on to become the 8th most successful movie of 1997.

6. Trimurti

In 1995, Anil Kapoor ended up collaborating with Jackie Shroff and Shah Rukh Khan when Sunny Deol reportedly rejected director Mukul Anand's action drama Trimurti (1995). A few years later, history repeated itself when Anil Kapoor ended up being a part of Pukar, a project rejected by Deol.

7. Jaanwar

Akshay Kumar, Karisma Kapoor, and Shilpa Shetty worked together in the 1999 ffilm Jaanwar, which was director Suneel Darshan's action drama. Despite mixed responses from the critics, Jaanwar went on to become a major hit, and also the 13th highest-grosser film of the year. But did you know, Akshay was not the first choice for the movie, and reportedly the makers had wanted Sunny Deol for his part. However, he turned down the film as he had played a similar character in Jeet (1996).