Jaaved Jaaferi has spoken about a string of film roles he came close to landing over the years, including Irrfan Khan’s part in Life in a... Metro and the role of Circuit in Munna Bhai MBBS. In an exclusive conversation with India Today, the actor also said he had auditioned for Parinda before the film took a different shape.

Looking back at those missed opportunities, Jaaferi said there are moments he wishes had gone differently, but added that he has learnt to accept them as part of fate. He said he still remembers those instances clearly, even as he has chosen to take them in his stride.

Speaking about the opportunities he missed, Jaaferi said, "No, it's not about having to let it go. I missed out on two films for whatever reason."

Recalling Life in a... Metro, he shared, "One was Life in a Metro with Anurag Basu; Irrfan Khan’s role. Irrfan had to go do a film with Angelina Jolie somewhere, and then they came to me; everything was done, the dates were locked, and we were going ahead. But then Irrfan came back, so I lost out. That's something I lost out on, and I kind of feel like, 'Man, I wish I had got that.' It was on the plate, but it just slipped away."

Missing out on the role of Circuit

The actor also revealed that he was in contention for the role of Circuit in Rajkumar Hirani's Munna Bhai MBBS, which eventually became one of Arshad Warsi's most celebrated performances.

"I remember meeting Vinod Chopra at the airport, and he called Raju Hirani. I didn't know Raju then; I knew Vinod. He said, 'Hey, why don't we call Jaaved Jaaferi for Circuit’s role?' But Raju didn't know me very well then. My image, because of television, was that I was very westernised. Maybe he felt I wouldn't fit into that 'Bhai' kind of character."

Jaaferi admitted that, in hindsight, he could have pushed harder for the role. "I probably should have, because as an actor sometimes you have to go and pitch yourself and say, 'Look, I can do this.' I probably took it easy. I said, 'Okay, he feels that way.' But if you're a little more aggressive, probably things could have been different."

He said he later discussed it with Arshad Warsi but never held any bitterness.

"Of course, I spoke to Arshad about it. But as I said, it's fate. That's how it works. Nobody was cast at that point when Vinod approached him. I think it was not Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) they were playing with the idea of Shah Rukh then. That's what I vaguely remember. And then, of course, it shifted the tonality of the film, and this is what happened."

Losing Parinda

Interestingly, Munna Bhai MBBS wasn't the only Vinod Chopra production Jaaferi almost became a part of. He revealed that he had also auditioned for Parinda before the film evolved into the version audiences eventually saw.

"In fact, I had also auditioned for Vinod Chopra's Parinda. We're talking about a time when it was supposed to be a much smaller film. They were thinking of Naseer Bhai as the elder brother and were looking for the younger brother. I auditioned on video with Shiv Subramaniam, who was one of the writers and actors, and gave my tape to them. Then, of course, the project became a different film with Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit."

Despite the near misses, Jaaferi says he has made peace with what happened.

"So yeah, these things... I remember them very clearly. At least these things. But you take it in your stride. That's how it is."

Jaaved Jaaferi was recently seen in Dhamaal 4 with Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh and others.

- Ends

Published By:

Priyanka Sharma

Published On:

Jul 21, 2026 12:28 IST