11 Years Of Wanted: Boney Kapoor Reveals Salman Was His Only Choice, SRK Was Not Approached; Ileana, Genelia Were Contenders

Every Eid, fans eagerly wait for Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s Eidi aka new film to release in theatres. Well it is believed that this trend began 11 years ago with his super hit action thriller Wanted. Directed by Prabhu Deva and produced by Boney Kapoor, the film also features Ayesha Takia, Prakash Raj, Vinod Khanna and Mahesh Manjrekar. A remake of the Telugu hit Pokiri, Wanted won our hearts with the killer action sequences, kickass story line, Salman and Ayesha’s cute on-screen chemistry and one of the most iconic Bollywood dialogues ever: “Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di toh mei apne aap ki bhi nahi sunta.”

Well rumors often suggest that the film was first offered to Shah Rukh Khan, who refused it after stating that no one can play the role better than South superstar Mahesh Babu, the lead star of Pokiri. Talking about the same on the 11 year anniversary of his film, Boney told Bollywood Hungama, “Shah Rukh Khan was not offered Wanted. Salman was the one and only choice. I remember he was shooting for Partner (2007) and I had asked him to see the original film made in Telugu. He had cancelled the plan twice. Meanwhile, the Tamil film was to release and then it would have further led to a scramble for rights. Hence, I insisted Salman that he come and watch. He agreed. Post the shoot, he saw the film at midnight at Dimple Theatre. He loved it and did thumbs up to me and walked towards his car.”

While Salman was the first and only choice for Wanted, makers had initially thought of casting Genelia Deshmukh or Ileana D'Cruz, who played the female lead in Pokiri, opposite the superstar. Well the filmmaker revealed that they finalized Ayesha because they needed someone who was in awe of Salman and wanted a new face. He explained, “Yes, Ileana was in close contention. We also thought of Genelia Deshmukh. There were also two top actresses who were interested but I had to politely say no to them since I wanted an actress who had never worked with Salman before. This is because of this crucial scene in the second half after Salman fights the goons in the train. This is where the girl says, ‘I don’t know if you are a good or a bad person, but the fact is that I love you.’.”

Well we are glad Ayesha and Salman were the final choice for Wanted, because they looked absolutely wonderful together and their adorable nok jhok was one of the biggest highlights of the action entertainer.