‘I met him for lead role…’: Was Dhurandhar actor Saumya Tandon considered for Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar before Nargis Fakhri?

Actress Saumya Tandon recently returned to the big screen after 18 years in the film “Dhurandhar,” playing Akshaye Khanna’s wife. Although people still remember her for her role as Roop in Imtiaz Ali’s 2007 film “Jab We Met,” the actress reveals that she first met Imtiaz Ali when “Rockstar” was being shot and he was casting for the female lead.

The actress explains, “Actually, I met Imtiaz for a lead role in another film. I met him through UTV. He was making “Rockstar” with them at the time. So, we met for “Rockstar,” and then this film (Jab We Met) came along, and I felt like I was a complete newcomer with no one to guide me. I first met Imtiaz Ali when he was casting for a Kashmiri girl.”

The actress ultimately chose the role of Roop, who plays Geet’s (Kareena Kapoor Khan) sister. Saumya says, “I was very young when ‘Jab We Met’ was made. I had just graduated from college and had no idea what was going on. I really liked Imtiaz, just like I liked Aditya Dhar’s script, and I thought, ‘Let’s sneak off and see what it’s like in big films, and this will be a kind of starting point for me.’ But the film became such a huge hit.”

The Ranbir Kapoor film later resumed production and was released in 2011 with Nargis Fakhri as the lead.

“They were meeting several girls for ‘Rockstar.’ I don’t know if they chose me or not. That film flopped with UTV at the time, and ‘Jab We Met’ was made with Ashtavinayak. ‘Rockstar’ was made two years later with Ranbir Kapoor. Initially, it was planned to be made with John Abraham and a new girl,” she says.

Also read: Akshay Kumar reacts to viral meme crediting him for Akshaye Khanna’s ‘Dhurandhar’ performance: ‘Kabhi ghamand nahi kiya’