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Neha Dhupia reveals she turned down Shah Rukh Khan’s Chak De! India and says it remains one of the biggest opportunities she regrets missing.
Neha Dhupia reveals she turned down Shah Rukh Khan’s Chak De! India.
Neha Dhupia has revealed that she was offered Chak De! India, the 2007 sports drama starring Shah Rukh Khan, but turned it down. Looking back at the decision years later, the actress admitted that the film remains one of the opportunities she regrets missing.
Neha spoke about the project during a board game session on her chat show Double Date. She also named Operation Safed Sagar as another project she wishes she had taken up, saying that both belonged to genres she had always wanted to explore as an actor.
Neha Dhupia Regrets Saying No To Chak De! India
During the conversation, Neha reflected on roles she had declined during her career and admitted that some of those choices have stayed with her.
“Sometimes, when you look back at the opportunities you turned down, you realise what you may have missed. Chak De! India and Operation Safed Sagar were two such opportunities that stayed with me,” she said.
Neha did not reveal which character she had been approached to play in Chak De! India.
The Shimit Amin directorial eventually released in 2007 with Shah Rukh Khan playing Kabir Khan, a former hockey captain who takes charge of the Indian women’s hockey team.
The story follows Kabir and the players as they prepare for an international tournament while dealing with differences within the team.
‘I Always Wanted To Do A Good Sports Film’
Neha also explained that her regret comes from having missed two genres she had specifically wanted to work in.
“I always wanted to do a good sports film, a good military film, but have missed these two big opportunities,” she said.
While Chak De! India gave her an opportunity to be part of a sports drama, Operation Safed Sagar was another project she chose not to take up.
The latter is a Netflix project centred on military operations.
Neha acknowledged both titles while discussing professional decisions she would have approached differently in hindsight.
More About Chak De! India
Chak De! India revolves around Kabir Khan and the Indian women’s hockey team.
The players come from different backgrounds and initially struggle with their individual differences before coming together as a team and competing on the international stage.
The film featured Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role and received widespread acclaim following its release.
It also won the National Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
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Ask News18Neha Dhupia revealed that she regrets turning down the 2007 sports drama Chak De! India and the Netflix military project Operation Safed Sagar.
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Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he\’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always…Read More
October 16, 2026, 20:00 IST