How Deepika’s Debut Got Swapped With Sonam

If all had gone well, Deepika Padukone would have  made her debut in Sanjay Leela  Bhansali’s Saawariya instead  of  Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om.

 But fate  and the boxoffice  had other plans. Bhansali had  all  but finalized  one long-legged beauty(Deepika) when another(Sonam) walked  into his film.The filmmaker was given  the  chance  to  launch Rishi Kapoor’s son and  Anil Kapoor’s daughter together, a package  deal that he  couldn’t resist.

Without any warning Deepika was  dropped from her  purported  debut. This setback could have  ruined  her career. But as  luck would have it,  Farah  Khan  and Shah  Rukh Khan came forward  to offer  Deepika  a double  role on Om Shanti Om.She  never looked  back. Her career made a  big chhapaak(splash).

And just look at the devilish dimensions  of  destiny!  Om Shanti Om and  Saawariya were both  released on the same  Friday  9 November 2007. While  Om Shanti Om became   a big hit catapulting Deepika to dizzying heights  of glory, Saawariya  was  the  biggest  flop of Bhansali’s career,though Ranbir and  Sonam became instant stars.

Besides Deepika, Om Shanti Om had another Saaawariya connection. Ranbir Kapoor’s dad Rishi Kapoor featured in the song  of that title  in  Subhash  Ghai’s Karz. In fact  Rishi Kapoor   singing  the Kishore Kumar hit ‘Om Shanti Om’ in the  film Karz was  shown   in  Farah Khan’s film.

The  friction  between  Deepika and Sonam  continues  to this day.