Aashiqui 2, the 2013 movie about the a rockstar’s rise to fame and its perils, was an instant hit and propelled its lead characters, Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, to massive success. However, it now turns out that Kapur’s big break came after someone else rejected the role.

In an interview with Indian platform Pinkville, Emraan Hashmi revealed that he had been approached to play the leade character of Rahul Jaykar by director Mohit Suri. However, he turned it down due an interesting reason.

“Mohit approached me first for Aashiqui 2 and I was like this would work more with actors who are fairly new, who don’t have a roster of past movies or an image with the audience and there would be a sense of discovering a fresh pair,” he said.

As it turns out, Bollywood did discover two new faces with the movie who are now stars in their own right.

Kapur had already made his Bollywood acting debut four years ago in London Dreams, but it was Aashiqui 2 that really brought him success.

Hashmi’s version is also lent credbilibility by the face that there was no lack of familiarity between him and Suri. The director had cast him in six films already including Kalyug and Murder 2.

As for regrets in hindsight about not taking up a film that became a major hit, Hashmi has a philosophical view of the situation.

“I don’t ever have regrets with films I didn’t do,” Hashmi said. “They were never meant for me to begin with.”

Aashiqui 2 not only brought accolades to its actors but also raked in over INR100 crore at the box office making it one of the most successful films of the year.

It was a sequel to the 1990 hit Aashiqui, directed by Mahesh Bhatt, which also featured a singer in the main lead.