Actor Raj Tarun was quite disappointed when he couldn’t star in the films Ekkadiki Pothav Chinnavada and Sathamanam Bhavathi. The first film went on to become a super hit last year and the second one has already started making the right noise. However, he isn’t the only star who cried over spilt milk.
Tollywood is replete with several instances, when an actor chose not to do a film, and it went on to change the career of the one who eventually starred in it.
“This situation arises due to date issues or other problems. A lot of things here depend on a chance and it’s about being in the right place at the right time,” says producer Suresh Babu.
His brother and actor Venkatesh’s, debut Kaliyuga Pandavulu was also something that was not meant for him. The project, initially, was supposed to star actor Krishna.
“We gave an advance to director K. Raghavendra Rao and Krishna garu. My father wanted to start the project early, but it got delayed. One evening, dad decided to cast Venkatesh and that’s how Venky made his debut,” recalls Suresh. The film became a blockbuster and gave Venkatesh his first taste of stardom.
Director Trivikram first narrated the story of Athadu to Pawan Kalyan and since he was not interested, the project went to Mahesh Babu, becoming one of his career best.
Then you have the instance of Rakul Preet Singh and Parineeti Chopra. Rakul was initially supposed to star in Brahmotsavam, luckily for her she was busy and the film went on to bomb at the box-office. But now, after Parineeti walked out of the A.R. Murugadoss-Mahesh Babu project which has already garnered a lot of response, Rakul has got a chance to shine once again.
There is also an interesting anecdote about the film Prem Nagar produced by D. Ramanaidu. “The original cast was Nageswara Rao (ANR) garu and Jamuna and it was supposed to be directed and produced by someone else. Once it was launched, the producer met with an accident and left the project. Then Nageswara Rao garu suggested the story to my father,” says Suresh Babu. The film became a big blockbuster in 1974, changing the fate of Ramanaidu as a producer.
Producer M.S. Raju, who delivered many hits, first narrated the subject of Manasantha Nuvve to Mahesh Babu. “He liked it, but asked me to work on Okkadu instead,” says M.S. Raju.
Okkadu became a big blockbuster and gave Mahesh Babu instant stardom. “Later I made a few changes to Manasantha Nuvve and made it with Uday Kiran, who was an upcoming actor at that time. This film also became a huge hit,” recalls M.S. Raju.
Dasari Narayana Rao’s debut film Thatha Manavadu initially cast Sobhan Babu as the lead actor. But because of some differences with the producer, he was replaced by actor Raja Babu. Vijaya Nirmala played the female lead and the film became a big hit, bringing Dasari to the forefront.
Director Puri Jagannadh first narrated Pokiri to Pawan Kalyan, who rejected it. He then went to Ravi Teja and finally Mahesh Babu. The rest, as they say, is history.
