Prateik Babbar was offered the title role of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka's son in The Legend Of Kunal, but after showing interest, Prateik never met the director.
Period films and costume dramas are a complete no-no for the Gen X. Prateik Babbar was offered the title role 
of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka's son in The Legend Of Kunal, but after showing interest, Prateik never met the director.
Says the director Chandraprakash Dwivedi, "I hadn't seen the boy. So I specially went and saw his film Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na."
Looked the part
Dwivedi felt Prateik had the correct look for the part and contacted him through the Babbars. "I've known Raj and through him, I got in touch with the boy.u00a0 Prateik spoke to me a few times on the phone. But he never met me although I offered to go over and meet him. Even Tabu, who is in my film, spoke to Prateik. That didn't help either."
Fighting shy
But the director who's known for his academic familiarity with historical subjects doesn't blame Pratiek for fighting shy. "Nowadays, history is considered taboo in the big production houses. The younger generation of actors shy away from any film that reclaims the past.
I was recently asked to contribute to a corporate production house's script bank but was told to keep period films out. A man like me is struggling to keep the tradition of bringing history to the screen."
Past refusals
Other actors who have refused the part
Ranbir Kapoor
Kunal Kapoor
John Abraham
Neil Mukesh
Arjun Rampal
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