11 South Indian Stars Who Rejected These Superhit Bollywood Films Without Any Regrets

Bollywood can never create the enormity of South Indian films, which enjoy a niche audience of its own. With the advent of OTTs, the audience for regional cinema, South Indian films in particular has increased massively. Thanks to subtitles, more non-Hindi/ non- English language content can be accessed now.

Recently released web series Family Man 2 starred an array of South Indian actors like Samantha Akkineni, Mime Gopi, Uday Mahesh, Azhagam Perumal and Devadarshini among others.

While the language barrier is seemingly diminishing now, there are several actors, popular ones down the South, who rejected to do these superhit Bollywood films.

1. Anushka Shetty

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One of the most popular actresses down the South, Anushka Shetty gained recognition worldwide after SS Rajamouli's Baahubali. Did you know she rejected Rohit Shetty's Singham in 2011? She was offered the role that eventually went to Kajal Aggarwal. She has denied a few more Hindi projects including Ittefaq owing to her busy schedule.

2. Mahesh Babu

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Mahesh Babu has a huge influence in Telugu cinema. He is popular internationally as well but has willingly refused to do Bollywood films. He apparently prefers sticking to his roots.

3. Fahadh Faasil

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Did you know noted filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj had offered him a movie?

"I keep interacting with Vishal Bhardwaj. He had actually sent me a script which was so beautiful. I hope he still makes it. Such a beautiful script. When I texted him last time, I said Sir, please make it. I am looking forward to do something there, let¡¯s see" he was quoted as saying in one of the interviews.

Faasil had also said that he has been getting offers from Bollywood. He said he might take up a role when he feels confident enough to be a part of the industry.He believes that he is only getting good roles because of Malayalam films and he would forever be thankful to Mollywood for that.

4. Nayanthara

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Remember the song One to three four get on the dance floor from Chennai Express? Nayanthara could have shared the screen space with Shah Rukh Khan, but she rejected the offer for reasons best known to her. Later, The Family Man actress Priyamani was seen shaking a leg in the song.

5. Allu Arjun

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If rumours are to be believed, Kabir Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaam is one the films that were offered to Allu Arjun. The film was planned to be released in many languages, and Allu Arjun was approached for it. It is said that he rejected the film for reasons best known to him. The film was then offered to Hrithik Roshan, and after that, Salman Khan was approached.

Allu Arjun was also offered Ranveer Singh starrer 83, but he didn't accept the offer.

6. Nivin Pauly

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Malayali actor Nivin Pauly had maintained that he won't be comfortable doing films in Tamil, Telugu or Hindi, but at the same time, he said that he would want to push himself by crossing boundaries. Pauly was reportedly supposed to do a film with Anurag Kashyap. His picture with the filmmaker went viral on social media when the rumours started to float across. However, later there was no update. If grapevine is to be believed, he was offered the role that Vicky Kaushal played in Manmarziyaan.

Pauly was also the first choice for Sushant Singh Rajput starrer Chhichhore. He had once said that he sacrificed his Bollywood debut for Kayamkulam Kochunn.

7. Rashmika Mandanna

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Hailed as the national crush of India, Mandanna had rejected Hindi remake of Jersey starring Shahid Kapoor. Speaking to IANS, she had revealed the reason for rejected the film. "I got that opportunity because of the choices I have made till now. I don't think this choice is going to go bad. 'Jersey' needs a lot of you. It is almost realistic. Right now, only doing commercial films, I am going insane. Imagine doing something like 'Jersey' and not being able to pull it off."

8. Puneeth Rajkumar

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Puneeth Rajkumar, who mostly works in Kannada films, was also offered Bajrangi Bhaijaan, but he rejected it because he wasn't impressed with the script. "All of them were approached by producer Venkatesh, but I'm not sure why they turned down the project," said writer KV Vijayendra Prasad, father of ace filmmaker SS Rajamouli.

9. Yash

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The Kannada star who became an overnight sensation after KGF was reportedly offered Laal Kaptaan. He was first approached for the role, but after he refused to work in it, the film was then offered to Saif Ali Khan.

10. Darshan

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The charming star of Kannada film industry was offered the role of antagonist in Salman Khan starrer Dabangg 3. The film then went into Sudeep's kitty.

11. Vijay Devarakonda

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Vijay Devarakonda has maintained that he doesn't want to do an out-and-out Hindi film but it has to be something that works both in Hindi as well as Telugu. It is said that several filmmakers approached him, especially after Arjun Reddy but he rejected many offers before accepting Karan Johar's Liger, which will be released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.