Before Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra was considered for the female lead opposite Saif Ali Khan. But reportedly, Priyanka wasn't keen to do an grey-shade or negative character.
In 2008, director-duo Abbas Mustan brought a slick action thriller that became one of the year's biggest hits. Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna-starrer Race was released with a positive reception from the critics and the audiences. This ensemble actioner had the best of the cast, and the best of the music, and it became one of the best films in directors' careers. Race is still the highest-grossing film of Abbas Mustan.
Apart from Saif and Akshaye, the movie also starred Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, and Sameera Reddy as the female leads, along with the supporting cast of Anil Kapoor. Upon the release, Akshaye, Bipasha, and Anil won the most praise for their performances. This is probably the film from the 2000s, where every character had shades of grey. Today, moviegoers look at Race as a perfect murder mystery thriller with the perfect cast, but interestingly two actors weren't the original choices of the director.
Who was considered first for Bipasha's role?
Not Bipasha Basu, but Priyanka Chopra was first considered for the role of Soniya. As per the media reports, the makers approached Priyanka with the script of Race, but she wasn't keen to do a negative or grey-shade role. Thus, she rejected the film. If Priyanka had said yes to the film, it would be her second collaboration with the director duo after Aitraaz (2004).
Anil Kapoor wasn't the first choice for Race?
Reportedly, before Anil Kapoor, the makers approached Ajay Devgn to play inspector Robert D'Costa (RD D'Costa). Though Ajay liked the script, Ajay chose to reject the project for the reasons best known to him.
Race was turned into a franchise?
The success of Race inspired the makers of a franchise. In 2013, the makers brought the sequel Race 2, with a bigger cast and bigger budget. Race 2 also met with a favourable response and became a bigger hit than the prequel. Five years after Race 2, Salman Khan took the mantle of the Race franchise and replaced Saif in Race 3 (2018). The third instalment met with negative reviews, and despite earning good at the box office, it is still considered the worst film of the franchise. As per IMDb ratings, Race scored 6.7, Race 2 scored 5.3 and Race 3 scored only 1.9 out of 10.
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