Nayanthara’s portrayal as Shah Rukh Khan’s love interest in the newly released Jawan won over both reviewers and viewers. And it goes without saying that everyone will anticipate seeing the South Asian star in more Bollywood productions. That might not be the case, though, as we have learnt from industry insiders that the actor-producer has stopped reading screenplays for the time being. She has actually been unhappy since Jawan’s release, and the reason is related to the movie’s director, Atlee.
“She has been very upset with Atlee because her role was chopped in the film. Also, Deepika’s (Padukone) character was elevated and Nayantara’s part was significantly sidelined,” a source told Hindustan Times.
Although Padukone is listed in the movie as making a special appearance, many people believe that wasn’t the case. “It was not a cameo at all. Jawan was almost made to look like an SRK-Deepika film. Nayanthara is the leading actor down south, and hence, she was not happy with the treatment of Jawan,” further adds, “And that can never well be the reason why we might not see her in a Bollywood project, at least not anytime soon.”
Even though Vijay Sethupathi, who portrays the adversary, attended the recent success meet that took place in Mumbai last week, she wasn’t physically there.
The sources, further clarifies that this is not the way it has been suggested: “Nayanthara never goes to the films events. She follows a no promotion policy for her films because of her bad experiences in the past when she was misquoted and because she feels that her job is to act and not get involved in the promotional activities.”
“Surely she is being appreciated, but there are no open discussions about any other Bollywood project as yet. As far as possibility of her taking over Bollywood space is concerned, we are not sure about that too,” the source told Hindustan Times further adding, “The reason is that she is almost 40 and has crossed the age bracket that Bollywood has created. So, here in Bollywood, she can play character roles that justifies her age. In Jawan, she worked well because she was cast opposite Shah Rukh, who is a good match for her.”
While it has been reported that Nayanthara is in negotiations for a number of projects, there have also been rumours that she will want a high fee for Jawan, comparable to that of top Bollywood stars like Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone. “Her remuneration depends on the film and the people involved in it. It starts from ₹5 crore and goes as high as ₹10-12 crore, which is the highest any actress gets in South. And for this film as well, she charged around ₹10-11 crore, considering it was a pan-India project,” the source told HT.
