Neha Dhupia expresses regret over turning down roles in Shah Rukh Khan’s Chak De India and Operation Safed Sagar
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
Neha Dhupia has opened up that she turned down two projects that she later wished she had been a part of. The star shared she was offered Chak De India, the 2007 sports drama starring Shah Rukh Khan , but declined the opportunity. She also opened up that she turned down the critically acclaimed web series Operation Safed Sagar .
Adding to this, Neha Dhupia opened up on declining roles in Chak De India and Operation Safed Sagar. (Photo: Sarang Gupta) 'Missed these two big opportunities' Neha spoke about the projects during a board game session on her chat show Double Date. She shared that both projects belonged to genres she had always wanted to explore but had let go of the opportunities. Looking back at her career, the star admitted that some of those decisions have stayed with her.
Meanwhile, “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. I always wanted to do a good sports movie, a good military movie, but have missed these two big opportunities," she shared.
Notably, Rolled out in 2007, Chak De India was a sports drama produced by Yash Raj Films. The movie starred Shah Rukh Khan as Kabir Khan, a former captain of the Indian men's hockey team who becomes the coach of the women's national hockey team. The movie also features Vidya Malavade, Shilpa Shukla, Sagarika Ghatge and Chitrashi Rawat, among others.
As per the latest buzz, Operation Safed Sagar: The Untold Story of the Kargil War is a 2026 Netflix series inspired by the Indian Air Force's role in the 1999 Kargil War. The six-episode series follows the Golden Arrows squadron as its pilots undertake dangerous combat missions during the conflict. The cast includes Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill, Abhay Verma, Dia Mirza and Adil Hussain, among others.
In further updates, Neha made her Bollywood debut with Qayamat: City Under Threat (2003) and went on to appear in films such as Julie, Kya Kool Hai Hum, Singh Is Kinng and Tumhari Sulu. Alongside acting, she has explored television and digital platforms. In May 2026, she launched Double Date, a star chat show on YouTube that she hosts with her husband, Angad Bedi.
On top of that, The show has featured star couples such as Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Tejasswi Prakash and Karan Kundrra, among others. Neha was also of late seen in Don't Be Shy, a movie produced by Alia Bhatt.
Vibha Maru is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Entertainment, based in Delhi. With a decade of experience across digital and print media, she covers Bollywood, Hollywood and web shows. A self-confessed cinephile who breathes Hindi cinema, Vibha can often be found sacrificing sleep after binge-watching films and web series. Though she holds a Commerce degree, she discovered her true calling in journalism after enrolling at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). She began her career covering Delhi's cultural scene, food, nightlife, concerts, and city life at The Times of India, before moving into full-time entertainment journalism with India Today. At India Today, Vibha interviewed some of the biggest names in Bollywood and television while carving a niche for herself through movie reviews, opinion pieces, nostalgic features, star interviews, and trend-driven stories. She later brought her storytelling and editorial expertise to The Indian Express, where she continued to deepen her understanding of cinema through long-form entertainment explainers, retrospectives and feature writing. Now, as Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times Entertainment, Vibha continues to chronicle the world of movies and pop culture. Her work spans breaking entertainment news, exclusive interviews, star features, and stories that capture the conversations shaping Indian cinema. Read More
Source: Hindustan Times