Nadia Jamil turned down a role opposite SRK in Veer-Zaara

Nadia Jamil, who’s known for her social work and sharp wit on Twitter recently appeared on Rewind with Samina Peerzada and revealed some interesting information.

She said it was a turning point in her career when she met Veer-Zaara director, the late Yash Chopra.

She shared that she had been offered the role of Rani Mukherjee opposite Shahrukh Khan in the Bollywood movie Veer-Zaara but eventually turned it down.

Talking about being offered the role by the director and co-producer Yash Chopra, Nadia Jameel said “The turning point in my career was when I met Yash Chopra, Veer-Zaara was about to happen. Ammi was telling me she’d come with me or take care of my children, my son was two months old then, but I knew that if I moved in this direction now it would become an addiction which I would be unable to leave. It would shape the kind of mother I would become. I had to choose between being a mom or an actress but there isn’t even a comparison between the two. So I turned it down, however, I became very close to Yash Chopra and his family in the process.”

Despite receiving much acclaim for her acting, she added that she thinks she became an actress by accident and that she had never been very ambitious. Instead, she said she’s always loved working with children. She used to take all the children of her family for ice cream and also volunteered at SOS Village and Mother Teresa Foundation which she said “changed her life”.

You can watch the full interview here.

That said, Jamil previously distanced herself from the recorded interview after finding out that the series is sponsored by Fair & Lovely, a brand she called “heinously racist and demoralising”. We respect that!

“I cannot and do not endorse the need for ANY woman to lighten her skin to look more attractive. A woman’s dark skin is her beauty. She should wear it with extreme pride and love! Yes, us women come in different colours, shapes, sizes and personas. Deal with it world. Respect them all please. Stop telling us and making money off brainwashing the planet as to what our standard for beauty needs to be. We are all beautiful. Racism should not be endorsed. Body shaming should not be endorsed,” she wrote on Twitter.

Jamil did make sure to point out that there is no disrespect from her towards Samina Peerzada who she “love[s] alot.