When Aishwarya Rai revealed why she refused to do Brad Pitt’s Troy, he called it a ‘missed opportunity’. Watch

Did you know Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was offered Brad Pitt-starrer Troy and she refused to be a part of it? Yes, you read that right. Aishwarya was approached to play Briseis in the Brad Pitt starrer but the actor turned down the role.

In an indianexpress.com’s video, Aishwarya said that back then, she had committed to a lot of films in Bollywood, adding that “there are so many things I am not sure I will be comfortable with in the long run.” Troy was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starred Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom and Dian Kruger, among others. The role of Brisies went to Rose Byrne after Aishwarya refused.

Talking about how working environment/process of Hollywood is different than Bollywood, Aishwarya said, “Films in the West and here work differently in the sense that they meet you and then they say ‘green lit’ and they lock you off for a period of time because of the insurances. The way the entire film schedule is, you are locked off, which was very new for me.”

She later spoke about Troy and how it was exciting to be offered such a huge film. “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.’ But obviously, we have a way of looking at it like – this is your part…(expressing that her part was not big enough) lock off that kind of time when I had films here I was committed to, I couldn’t get myself to kick that to the kerb. You understand the impact of the cinema (Troy). It is exciting because these are huge offers…” said the 47-year-old adding how coming on board for the film would also have been about breaking the glass ceiling her colleagues spoke about, but there were things she didn’t feel comfortable about.

“I heard interviews of a lot of my seniors saying there is a glass ceiling to break and it cannot be broken. They believed it cannot happen (here). But you are like – I know it can happen and I could be the one making that difference if I want to but there are so many things I am not sure I will be comfortable with in the long run,” the Bride and Prejudice actor said, adding that she saw how working on Troy and other projects would have been perceived. “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,” the Raincoat actor concluded, speaking about how Bride And Prejudice was looked down upon in Hindi film industry, just as Jeans was not appreciated in north India but continues to be one of the biggest and most loved films down South.

Brad had also addressed Aishwarya’s rejection of the role in 2012 and told IANS in an interview, “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. I think we missed an opportunity to be cast together for Troy.”

Aishwarya made her Hollywood debut with Bride and Prejudice. She later featured in The Mistress of Spices (2005), The Last Legion (2007) and The Pink Panther 2 (2009). The actor, who was last seen in 2018 film Fanney Khan, will next be seen in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan, which will see her collaborating with Vikram, Karthi, Trisha, Jayam Ravi and Aishwarya Rajessh among others.