Gauahar Khan recently discussed her time acting in Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle and winner of several academy awards, in an interview.
She admitted that after five rounds of tryouts, she was passed over for the part because she was “too good-looking.”
She admitted to losing one of her biggest projects, Slumdog Millionaire, because she thought she was too attractive for it. I’ve spoken with Danny Boyle, and I went through five rounds of casting. You’re a superb actress, are you sure you were trained in India? he said after the sixth round. I claimed to have trained in India even though I had little experience at the time. He stated: How do you have this sensation when you speak like an actor who is not from India and who is from another country? Sir, I don’t know; I just try to do it every day, I said. You are such a great actor, but I can’t cast you here because I have to match three age groups, and your face doesn’t fit in a slum, he added. I responded, “Try me in a ghetto.
She continued by citing another another instance of how Rocket Singh had intentionally made her appear less than attractive.
“In Rocket Singh, the attempt was to make me not so attractive,” she stated. Since it was the appearance and the character, Shimit Sir would say, “Iski aankho pe aur pink lagao, ispe aur startling lipstick lagao.” She wasn’t intended to seem very attractive, despite the fact that she was very stylish.
Shimit Sir would still say, “Bahaut beautiful lag rahi hai, isko kuch aur green karo,” when I arrived on set, and in my heart I would think, “Meri pehli film hai!”
Check out the interview below:
Slumdog Millionaire, which starred Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Mahesh Manjrekar, and Irrfan Khan, took home eight Oscars overall, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score.
