Amongst several remarkable Bollywood films, Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta starrer Soldier remains fan’s favorite. From hardcore action to crackling chemistry between the leads, the film directed by Mustan Burmawalla and Abbas Burmawalla couldn’t have been any better. The remarkable film completes 25 years of its release. Though Preity’s innocence and bubbly image in the film were much loved by the audience, do you know she was actually not the first choice for Soldier?
Ramesh Taurani reveals first choice for Soldier
In a recent interview with Bollywood Hungama, the producer of the film Ramesh Taurani spilled beans on the initial casting of the film and some interesting trivia.
Talking about the film, Ramesh Taurani was quoted as saying that Preity was a lovely girl, but he had met Kareena Kapoor’s mother, Babita Kapoor, expressing his wish to sign her daughter while she was 16 years. However, she declined the offer, stating, “Kareena bahut chhoti hai (Kareena is too young).”
He further discussed how he tried to persuade her, stating that it’s a big project and big names are associated with it. Nonetheless, Babita remained resolute and keen on Kareena completing her education first. Then he was later suggested Kareena’s elder sister and actress Karisma Kapoor, but they couldn’t reach a common ground with regard to her fees.
That’s how Preity Zinta was finally signed for the film
Bobby Deol, on the other hand, wanted to have Preity on board. In response to this, Taurani stated that he also had Preity in his mind, but was concerned about having two newcomers in a film. Thus, the director duo Abbas-Mustan decided to meet her once. After meeting her, both of them were happy and told Ramesh, ‘Issi ladki ko film mein lete hai (Let’s have this girl on board for the film)”.
Furthermore, the producer was also assured that having her wouldn’t be a problem, and that’s how they signed Preity for the film. In addition to this, Ramesh Taurani further shared that the actress was paid half of the amount in Soldier than Kya Kehna as he explained to her that Soldier is an expensive film, and it won’t be feasible for them, and she happily agreed.
In the same interview, the producer also cleared the air surrounding Dharmendra wanting to see Sunny Deol playing the lead for the film. Taurani stated that it was false, as neither Dharma nor Sunny had heard the story. He said, “Dharam ji was very happy that Tips and Abbas-Mustan were making a film with Bobby.”