Ameesha Patel to Matt Damon: Celebs who regretted turning down ICONIC films

It's not every day that a big blockbuster film comes knocking at an actor's door and when it does, they rarely turn it down. But as the tabloids tell us, there are some exceptions. From Ameesha Patel rejecting offers to star in Bollywood films like Chalte Chalte and Tere Naam to Matt Damon rejecting the lead role in Avatar, here's a list of actors who have regretted turning down some of the biggest films ever made. Take a look...

Ameesha Patel is currently riding high on the success of her film 'Gadar 2'. The actress is making a splash at the box office after over a decade. But, had she said yes to a handful of films she was offered, we might have just seen her around at the box office more often. In an interview with ETimes, the actress revealed that she had turned down several offers over the years that included movies with Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. Ameesha explained, "I turned them down because of date issues, so I couldn't regret it. Chalte Chalte was one of my films, Munna Bhai MBBS, Tere Naam... there were a lot of reasons I couldn't do those films because I had already committed (to other films) and there's only one Ameesha. You can't be everywhere."

In a 2009 interview with Bombay Times, Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan shocked fans when he revealed that he turned down Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire'. He admitted that he felt bad about his decision, but didn't completely regret it because of the story and its implication. Shah Rukh said that he didn't do the film because the character of the host was a 'cheat'. At the time, the actor had done a similar hosting stint, which made him think that the audience would believe that he 'cheats' on the reality game show. He, however, did admit that Slumdog Millionaire "was a great film."

By turning down James Cameron's Avatar, Matt Damon not only lost a role of a lifetime but also lost over $250 million in profits! The director was so determined to get the actor on board for his film that he even offered Matt 10% of the film's box office revenue. However, according to the actor, he had to turn down the lead role and the lucrative deal in order to star in the Bourne franchise. Matt has since never held back on his regret about turning down the role. He even later went on record to share his disappointment in taking up the spy franchise.

Kareena Kapoor Khan considers herself one of the only actresses in the business who can boast about giving films to her peers and fellow B-Town actresses. Besides the many films the star turned down, she also rejected Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Ram Leela. The actress confessed in an interview that she was 'mad' at herself for opting out of the film and taking up Gori Tere Pyaar Mein instead. She explained that she often signs films and then chooses to bow out when it 'feels wrong'. While stating that she has no regrets, she acknowledged that she missed her chance to work with Bhansali, but was hopeful for another shot some other time.

Did you know Josh Hartnett turned down the role of Batman in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight series? The actor revealed that his fears about being typecast drove him to opt out of the film that went on to become a blockbuster hit and eventually be declared as one of the best Batman trilogies of all time. He also revealed that watching Christian Bale move on from the superhero role to bag some Oscar-nominated film, made him question his choices.It seems that Josh learnt his lesson. When Nolan came knocking to play a supporting role in Oppenheimer, the actor immediately agreed.