Nayanthara, the reigning “Lady Superstar” of South Indian cinema, has a surprising confession about her filmography. Despite a career boasting over 75 films, Nayanthara regrets starring in one particular blockbuster – Ghajini.
The 2005 Tamil film, remade in Hindi with Aamir Khan in the lead, was a massive commercial success. However, in a 2019 interview, Nayanthara expressed dissatisfaction with her role in the original. She stated, “I have to confess…the worst decision I ever took was to do that role in . My role did not shape out the way it was narrated to me, and I was photographed badly.”
While acknowledging the experience as a learning curve, Nayanthara’s character, Chitra, a medical student, apparently differed significantly from what was initially described. Jiah Khan played the role in the Hindi remake.
Directed by AR Murugadoss, Ghajini is an action thriller following a man with amnesia (Suriya) seeking revenge for his murdered fiancee (Asin). The film was critically acclaimed, particularly for the performances of Suriya and Asin. The Hindi remake became the first Indian film to cross the coveted ₹100 crore mark at the box office.
Interestingly, Murugadoss responded to Nayanthara’s comments, stating that casting decisions are based on character needs, not personal preferences. He explained, “Sometimes, we have given actors good characters…and favourites might have got small roles. It’s not in our hands.”
Despite her reservations about Ghajini, Nayanthara and Murugadoss later collaborated on the 2020 film Darbar, starring Rajinikanth. Darbar became the highest-grossing Tamil film of that year.
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