{"id":328428,"date":"2025-12-21T16:54:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T16:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/328428\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T16:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T16:54:17","slug":"boney-kapoor-reveals-salman-khan-wanted-katrina-kaif-in-wanted-as-female-lead-revealed-toying-with-several-names-including-genelia-dsouza-before-settling-for-ayesha-taki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/328428\/","title":{"rendered":"Boney Kapoor reveals Salman Khan wanted Katrina Kaif in \u2018Wanted\u2019 as female lead; revealed toying ‘with several names, including Genelia D\u2019Souza, before settling for Ayesha Takia’ |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BoneySalman Khan’s 2009 hit ‘Wanted’ (remake of Pokiri) revived his career. Boney Kapoor convinced Salman after a late-night screening. Salman suggested Katrina Kaif as heroine, but Boney opted for Ayesha Takia\u2014her character needed someone new opposite him. Salman Khan<\/a>‘s 2009\u2019s film \u2018Wanted\u2019, a remake of Telugu hit \u2018Pokiri\u2019 by Prabhu Deva, revived his career. He played Radhe, an undercover cop acting as a gangster with style, cool lines, and big action. Single-screen fans loved its fast story and fun moments. It kept Pokiri’s core but made Salman a huge hero that everyone loved.<\/p>\n

Boney Kapoor spots potential in \u2018Pokiri\u2019<\/p>\n

Recently, in a chat with Rediff, producer Boney Kapoor talked about how he got Salman on board for the film. He shared, \u201cI happened to see Puri Jagannadh<\/a>\u2019s 2006 Telugu blockbuster, Pokiri. I thought Salman would be apt for the character of Radhe aka Rajveer Shekhavat. I wanted him to see the film and had arranged two preview shows, but because of his hectic schedule, Salman couldn\u2019t make it. I was worried that the Tamil remake would release, and if it was as big a hit as the original, another Bollywood actor or producer would evince an interest in the Hindi remake rights and like with Ghajini, I would lose out on Pokiri too.”<\/p>\n

Bollywood Erupts as Kashyap Calls Salman \u2018Arrogant Like Ravan\u2019 and Questions SRK\u2019s Stardom<\/p>\n

The late-night screening drama<\/p>\n

Kapoor added, \u201cI kept urging Salman to see it, and one day, past midnight, he finally turned up at a Mumbai preview theatre to see Pokiri. My elation was short-lived when I discovered that following a mix-up, instead of the Dolby Digital, they had sent across a DTS print. Nervously, I waited for Salman\u2019s reaction to Pokiri. After watching it, he walked past me without a word. I followed anxiously, and before sitting in his car, he just signalled thumbs up.”<\/p>\n

Salman Khan’s Katrina Kaif suggestion<\/p>\n

\u2018Wanted\u2019 also features Ayesha Takia<\/a> in the female lead, but Boney shared that Salman had a different actress in mind for the role. Kapoor said, \u201cSalman had suggested Katrina Kaif\u2019s name for the role of the heroine in Wanted, the Hindi remake of Pokiri. But since the character is initially ambivalent about her feelings for Radhe, I reasoned that it would be better if we cast an actress who had never been paired with him before. We toyed with several names, including Genelia D\u2019Souza, before settling for Ayesha Takia.”<\/p>\n

A massive 2009 blockbuster<\/p>\n

Released in 2009, the film went on to become a big hit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Salman Khan’s 2009 hit ‘Wanted’ (remake of Pokiri) revived his career. Boney Kapoor convinced Salman after a late-night…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[128464,14217,6491,96,28764,128465,18796,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-328428","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-ayesha-takia","9":"tag-boney-kapoor","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-katrina-kaif","13":"tag-puri-jagannadh","14":"tag-salman-khan","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}