It's hard to imagine someone turning down a chance to play Brad Pitt's love interest in a major film. But as pop icon Shania Twain said in her hit song that mentioned the Fight Club star, to some actresses, "that don't impress [them] much." Such was the case for Indian actress and 1994 Miss World winner, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Often referred to as "the most beautiful woman in the world," she was also the first Indian actor to be included in the Cannes Film Festival jury. So in a way, it's understandable why she was not that crazy about working with Brad Pitt.
But that wasn't at all related to why Bachchan said no to the much-coveted opportunity of acting opposite the Academy Award-winning actor. She simply didn't feel comfortable about certain terms in making the film — from the intense Hollywood work culture and process to daring scenes. It was all new for the renowned Bollywood actress who later lent her voice to the Hindi version of Maleficent: Mistress of Evil starring Pitt's ex-wife Angelina Jolie. Here's the whole dish on what really happened back there.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Was Offered The Role Of Briseis in 'Troy'
The role of Briseis in the 2004 epic historical war film Troy was originally offered to Bachchan. Rose Byrne ended up playing the role and to this day, it's still one of her most iconic film roles. Bachchan told The Indian Express, "There are so many things I am not sure I will be comfortable with in the long run." At that time, she was also committed to several Bollywood projects. "When Troy was spoken about, forget on the script level, they were saying at least 6-9 months to lock off [the schedule] because it is a huge film. We were like 'wow,'" she added.
The actress said that she was new to that kind of filming schedule. She said she did realize that it was indeed a big break like many people had told her. But she said no because of the required "intimate scenes." Well, they were pretty steamy. "I heard interviews of a lot of my seniors saying there is a glass ceiling to break and it cannot be broken," Bachchan said that many believed she would have made a cultural impact in taking the role. "It could be a point proven, I might not be comfortable with it. So, I walked away from a lot of projects. I could see how it would have panned out."
Brad Pitt Regrets Not Working With Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
In 2012, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star acknowledged the Indian actress' decision not to play Briseis in Troy. "I think we missed an opportunity to be cast together for Troy," he said. Bachchan had apparently passed on three of Will Smith's movies as well — Hitch, Seven Pounds, and Tonight He Comes. Like Pitt, the Men in Black actor also wanted to work with the Bollywood star so bad. "She has this powerful energy where she doesn't have to say anything, do anything, she can just stand there. Anything she's making, I'll be there," Smith said.
The US press didn't like that Bachchan had already said no to so many Hollywood films. They even claimed that she "preferred to return to Mumbai to starve herself for a religious occasion." The actress responded in a true Miss World manner. "That's completely incorrect. The script reading for The Seven Pounds was just after Diwali when Dadimaa [her grandmother-in-law Teji Bachchan]'s health dipped drastically. So I didn't make that trip out to LA for the reading session with Will. Is that wrong? Not to me. I'd any day put family over career," she explained.
Brad Pitt Still Hopes To Work With Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Someday
Did you know that Brad Pitt himself didn't like Troy? At that point in his career, he was already looking for a film that had a "quality" script. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances with the studio, Pitt was obligated to play Achilles because he had already pulled out of another movie. Despite not having his whole heart in it, the actor trained hard to achieve that god-like sculpted figure which remains an inspiration to younger actors such as Zac Efron.
The World War Z star remains open to working with the former Miss World. We're sure he'd be particular with the script's quality this time so Bachchan might finally agree. Pitt had also said the nicest things about the actress' talent: "Given a chance, I would like to work with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, because she’s a versatile actor. She is one of the most popular actresses of Bollywood, who has achieved huge acclaim in the west for her style, beauty and acting."