Not Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone was the first choice to play Roop in \'Kalank\'?

Mumbai: Bollywood star Deepika Padukone is undoubtedly one of the most versatile actors in the industry. The gorgeous star has proved her mettle in acting time and again with blockbuster films like 'Padmaavat', 'Bajirao Mastani', 'Ram Leela' and many others. It is no surprise that Deepika is on every director and producer's wishlist to work with.

Interestingly, Deepika Padukone was the first choice to play Roop in Karan Johar's recently released magnum opus 'Kalank'. Yes, you heard it right.

According to reports, the makers of 'Kalank' had approached Deepika to play Roop (Alia Bhatt's character in the film) opposite Varun Dhawan in Abhishek Varman's directorial, but she turned down the offer. Later, as we all know it, the role was played by Alia. Though the reason for Deepika turning down the offer is yet unknown, it would have been the first time for the audience to see the sizzling pair of Varun and Deepika on screen!

Karan Johar co-produced multi-starrer period film with an ensemble cast starring Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit and Kunal Kemmu opened to disappointing reviews and is now on the road to becoming a dud on the box office with a registered collection of just Rs 56 crores in four days of its opening and is headed to miss the Rs 100 crore weekend mark, as anticipated by the makers.

The box-office fate of 'Kalank' reinforces the new found belief that content is the new king and it is extremely important for actors to not just be good performers but also pick projects carefully.

Alia will next be seen in 'Brahmastra', 'RRR' and 'Inshallah' and on the other hand Deepika will be seen in Meghna Gulzar's 'Chhapaak'.