No one can deny that in the late ‘90s, Govinda was one of the most bankable movie stars of Bollywood. He gave so many box office hits one after the another that he became a cult. With the movies like Aankhein, Coolie No. 1, Hero No. 1, Dulhe Raja, Haseena Maan Jayegi & Sajan Chale Sasural, Govinda had his own loyal fanbase. Unfortunately, post ‘00s, his career started to go on a downward spiral. And, by the mid-’00s, he entered into politics & quit doing films altogether.
After his short political stint, Govinda decided to make a comeback to films. But, by then, Govinda had lost his power to bring the audience to the theatres. All his solo starrers turned into disasters at the box office. The only successful movies that he has delivered in the last 20 years are Bhaagam Bhag (2006) with Akshaye Kumar & Partner (2007) with Salman Khan.
On multiple platforms, Govinda has blamed Bollywood for the fall in his career. He has claimed that Bollywood has conspired against him which led to his failure. While Govinda may blame Bollywood, no one can deny that his movie choices also played a crucial role in his career downturn.
Here are 5 superhit movies that Govinda rejected for different reasons:
1. Chandni(1989)
In an interview, Govinda shared how he was offered Rishi Kapoor’s role in the cult movie – Chandni. But, Govinda rejected such a meaty role because he didn’t want to play a physically challenged man as Rishi’s character was wheelchair-bound for a small part in the film.
2. Taal (1999)
As per various sources, Govinda was offered Anil Kapoor’s role in Subhash Ghai’s musical hit – Taal. Though Govinda liked the role & the script, he refused the film because of its title. He asked Subhash Ghai to change the title of the movie but Subhash Ghai refused. However, he shared his regret of rejecting the movie. He shared that he was high on back-to-back hits & may have made the mistake of rejecting the film.
3. Gadar (2001)
The Director of Gadar, Anil Sharma, worked with Govinda in the 1998 movie Maharaja. He narrated the script of Gadar to him. Govinda shared that he rejected the movie because the narrative had a lot of abuses & he wasn’t keen on doing a political & controversial film.
4. Devdas(2002)
Can you beat that Govinda rejected Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie? Yes, Sanjay Leela offered Govinda the role of Chunni Babu which was later played by Jackie Shroff. Govinda refused the role because he didn’t want to do a supporting role since he was a superstar at that time. He even told SLB that he may consider doing the movie if Shah Rukh Khan personally ask him to do the film.
5. Avatar(2009)
In an interview, Govinda claimed that he was offered the lead role in James Cameron’s worldwide blockbuster Avatar. The movie is the highest-grossing film of all time. He mentioned that he refused the movie because he didn’t want to paint himself blue!
Govinda shared some of these reasons in this quite popular video:
Govinda was last seen in the 2019 disaster, Rangeela Raja!