Deepika Padukone: Has xXx star LOST Satte Pe Satta role to THIS Bollywood rival?

Deepika is one of the queens of Bollywood and the most famous one in Hollywood, alongside Priyanka Chopra, but competition is still fierce for roles in one of the world’s biggest film industries. The Padmaavat star may have three movies in production, with two more lined up (including the long-awaited xXX sequel) but new reports suggest she has lost out on a major role to another Bollywood star. Has the high-profile lead role in the remake of 1982 smash hit Satte Pe Satta gone to someone else?

The film title literally translates as Seven on Seven.

UK film fans might recognise the set-up as rather similar to the famous classic Hollywood musical Seven Brides For Seven Brothers.

The Bollywood version is updated away from the America frontier days but maintains the story of seven brothers living illiterate and semi-wild in a large farmhouse, raised by the eldest, Ravi. He tricks a nurse, Indu, into marrying him before she realises the true state of affairs at home.

When the project was first announced, Deepika was widely reported to be the front contender to play Indu.

Local news and industry outlets are now reporting that another star is in talks for the role.

Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma has apparently been approached to take the lead role, opposite Hrithik Roshan and Ravi.

The actress is riding very high right now, indeed.

Sharma starred in the fifth-biggest Bollywood film of all time, PK, in 2014. Remarkably, she also appeared in the eighth and ninth biggest – Sultan and Sanju. Unsurprisingly, she is one of the country’s highest-paid actresses.

Sharma took a short break from her prolific film career following her marriage to cricket star Virat Kohli in 2017 and the release of her last film, Zero, in 2018.

The actress said: “After I got married, it was like a whirlwind. I was back on the sets shooting for Sui Dhaaga: Made In India and later Zero. I was just working back to back. Whatever time I’d get, I’d try to balance and meet Virat. But I was feeling too worked up. I needed to take two months off. I told my team I don’t even want to read anything right now. It’s important as a creative person to take time off but you deny yourself that.”

Meanwhile, the xXx sequel with Vin Diesel remains in “pre-production” as fans anxiously wait for more news.