Isha Koppikar calls turning down ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ her ‘biggest regret’

Bollywood actress Isha Koppikar, who is known for her roles in ‘Don’, ‘Kyaa Kool Hai Hum’, ‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?’, ‘36 China Town’ and more, recently spoke about the biggest regret of her life. Isha admitted that she was approached for a role in Farhan Akhtar’s directorial debut ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, which was released in 2001. However, due to a prior commitment, Isha refused the film.

Speaking to ‘Bollywood Bubble’ about the same, Isha said, “It is my life’s biggest regret of refusing to do ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. I had signed the film ‘Pyaar Ishq Mohabbat’ and I could have easily told the producer and the director that I also want to do ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ or that I want to leave your film for ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, but I had no one to guide me at that time and my values in life are so high that once I commit to something, I don’t listen to myself. I think this Salman Khan dialogue is for my life.”

She added, “I thought about how I betray them after signing their film? I feel that I should have done some ‘jugaad’. I could have done both or chosen ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ over it because unfortunately, ‘Pyar Ishq Mohabbat’ didn’t become such a massive hit and ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ was like a cult film.”

For the unversed, Isha was approached for the role of Pooja, the character paired opposite Saif Ali Khan in ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. The role ultimately went to Sonali Kulkarni.

Though Isha missed the chance to work with Farhan in ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, she later played a pivotal role in his film ‘Don’, starring Shah Rukh Khan.