Who replaced whom in 2015?

Akshay replaces Arnold in Enthiran 2
There was excitement when news came in that Arnold Schwarzenegger (best known for the Terminator series) was going to do Shankar's next film, Enthiran 2, with Rajinikanth. Arnie was to play the main villain in the film. But the deal fell through reportedly because the former Governor of California asked for a whopping Rs 120 crore as renumeration. Nobody knew who was to replace him till Akshay Kumar tweeted to announce the news. "Ending the year on a high note! Super excited to be a part of Robot 2 with the one & only @superstarrajini sir!" Akshay wrote with a picture with the film's director S Shankar, music composer AR Rahman and Rajinikanth. Akshay had played the baddie in the thriller Ajnabee over two decades ago!

Akshay replaces Hrithik in Bazaar
Hrithik Roshan walked out of Nikhil Advani's directorial venture Bazaar, and Akshay Kumar stepped in. The film is set against the backdrop of the share market and Hrithik who was said to have given his nod to the film backed out after Nikhil latest's two directorial ventures Hero and Katti Batti didn't do well at the box office. Nikhil, who is co-producing Akshay's Airlift (and had directed him earlier in Chandni Chowk To China) approached him for Bazaar and we hear he is doing it.

John replaces Akshay in Hera Pheri 3
After replacing Akshay Kumar in Welcome Back, John Abraham replaced the actor in yet another sequel Hera Pheri 3. While producer Firoz Nadiawala claimed that Akshay asked for a huge amount of money as his fee, the actor denied it and said that no one had approached him for the film. John will be playing the role of Raju Khabri (the name of character portrayed by Akshay in the film). Abhishek Bachchan will play the role of Raju Duplicate. One of the best Hindi comedy movies of all time, Hera Pheri, became a brand because of the trio Paresh Rawal (Babu Rao Ganpat Rao Apte), Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar.

Tabu replaces Rekha in Fitoor
Rekha, who was originally slated to play Begum (Miss Havisham) in this adaptation of Charles Dicken's novel Great Expectations, walked out mid-way through the shoot. Buzz was she was unhappy with her look in the film. The makers then replaced her with Tabu and had to re-shot all the sequences that were shot with Rekha.

Sidharth-Jacqueline replace Hrithik-Katrina in Bang Bang sequel
Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif have been replaced by Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez in Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK's Bang Bang sequel. The film now comes with a new cast, director and a new story. Sidharth plays an undercover agent in the film and he and Jacqueline will soon start prepping up for the action-adventure once they complete their respective projects. Bang Bang, which was an official remake of the Hollywood film Knight and Day, was declared a semi hit by the BoxOffice and received mixed reviews from the critics. However both Hrithik and Katrina's sizzling chemistry was one of the talked about elements of the film. Buzz is that Hrithik was upset with his replacement.

Shraddha replaces Disha in Baaghi
Model Disha Patani who was supposed to make her debut opposite Tiger Shroff in Baaghi (directed by Saabir Khan) suddenly found herself replaced by Shraddha Kapoor. A shocked Disha had been prepping for the role and attending workshops, but was unceremoniously ousted from the project without the makers bothering to inform her. Initially, the makers of the film wanted to cast a fresh face opposite Tiger but later changed their mind as they thought of adding star value to the project.

Shahid replaces Sushant in Half Girlfriend
Ekta Kapoor's Half Girlfriend, written by Chetan Bhagat and directed by Mohit Suri, has been a musical chair with actors walking in and out of the film. First there was talk of Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra signing the film after which Sushant Singh Rajput was finalised. The actor suddenly opted out of the project citing date issues. He had already given away those dates to Dinesh Vijan for his directorial debut. While there was talk of Arjun Kapoor coming in, the latest reports say that the makers have approached Shahid Kapoor to play Bihari loverboy Madhav Jha. Kriti Sanon was to play the female lead but now the actress is with Sushant in Dinesh Vijan's film. Katrina Kaif is being considered for Half Girlfriend.

Varun-Alia replace Hrithik-Kareena in Shuddhi
Karan Malhotra's Shuddhi has undergone a few cast changes in the last couple of years. From Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor Khan to Salman Khan to Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan. Originally the film had Kareena and Hrithik as the lead pair but due to Hrithik's health issues he had to opt out. Kareena then decided to not do it. Later, Salman Khan was roped in but he also opted out because of date issues. When Shuddhi happens it will be Varun and Alia's third film after Student of the Year and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya.

Fawad replaces Saif in Mr Chaalu
Reema Kagti's directorial Mr. Chaalu, revolving around the life of a flirtatious conman, has faced casting issues since its inception. First Saif Ali Khan was said to do the film but later he walked out citing remuneration issues. Shahid Kapoor was approached but he also couldn't commit to the project as he was shooting for Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab. While Priyanka Chopra was said to have been finalised as the film's heroine, she had to opt out because of her American TV show Quantico. Kangana Ranaut who had signed the film too opted out after Saif's exit. Now Fawad Khan has been signed as Mr Chaloo to play the role. Buzz is that the makers now plan to approach Kangana Ranaut again.

Sonakshi replaces Rani in Haseena
Produced by Mubina Rattonsey and directed by Apoorva Lakhia, Haseena – The Queen of Mumbai has started rolling from this month with Sonakshi Sinha as the main lead. She plays underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's seventh sister Haseena Parkar, who was closest to Dawood but had a heart attack last year.
Last year, there were reports that Rani Mukerji would play the role of Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena Parkar but recently the movie was officially announced with Sonakshi. Lakhia had approached Rani to star in the film, but the Mardaani actress had to say no as she was expecting this year (she delivered a baby girl this month).

Nawaz replaces Farhan in Raees
Nawazuddin Siddiqui replaced Farhan Akhtar as the cop in Shah Rukh Khan's Raees directed by Rahul Dholakia. Farhan, who is co-producing the film decided not to do the role as he is already playing an ATS officer in his upcoming film Wazir. Farhan was to shoot for Raees after Wazir but felt he was a bit uncomfortable playing the similar roles in the two films. The female lead also changed. First Sonam Kapoor was considered for the role of playing Shah Rukh Khan's leading lady in Raees, but producers Farhan and Ritesh Sidhwani decided to go with a fresh face, Pakistani actress Mahira Khan as Shah Rukh's romantic interest.

Waluscha replaces Ileana in Fan
It was reported that Ileana D'Cruz was approached to star opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Maneesh Sharma's film, but the makers decided to go for a fresh face and roped in supermodel Waluscha De Sousa for the part. Apparently Ileana's flop movies including Happy Ending made the makers change their minds. Waluscha returned to the ramp recently after her divorce from Mark Robinson.

Aftab replaced Riteish in Kya Kool Hai Hum 3
Aftab Shivdasani replaced Riteish Deshmukh in the third instalment of Kyaa Kool Hain Hum. Despite being a part of the earlier two KKHH series, Riteish decided he wanted a break from adult entertainers after Grand Masti as he was apprehensive of doing sex comedies after his marriage to actress Genelia D'Souza and the birth of their son. Subsequently he changed his mind as he's done Great Grand Masti and a cameo in the adult comedy Mastizaade.

Kangana replaces Shraddha in Rangoon
Shraddha Kapoor was supposed to be in Vishal Bhardwaj's Rangoon but was replaced by Kangana Ranaut. Shraddha later on went to say she didn't mind as she loved Kangana and knows that she will do such a good job. However friends close to Shraddha said she was extremely upset about it as it's a very prestigious project co-starring Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan.

Priyanka replaces Ajay Devgn in Jai Gangaajal
Priyanka Chopra replaced Ajay Devgn as cop in Prakash Jha's Jai Gangajal. She plays the role of Abha Mathur, the Superintendent of Police. While the makers said that the script demanded a female protagonist this time, people felt that because Devgn and Jha's last movie Satyagraha fared poorly at the boxoffice it led to the fallout between the actor and the filmmaker. The original Gangaajal (2003) directed by Prakash Jha and starring Devgan, Gracy Singh, and Mukesh Tiwari on the Bhagalpur blindings was a hit.