That Deepika Padukone had dated liquor baron Vijay Mallya's son Siddharth Mallya is known to all. The affair started when the actress was the brand ambassador of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Royal Challengers Bangalore owned by Mallya.
Although Deepika had never admitted to their relationship, her much-controversial lip-lock with Siddharth at an IPL match had cleared the air about their relationship status. But did you know Siddharth wanted to romance Priyanka Chopra?
Well, not in real life but the son of Kingfisher founder Vijay Mallya wanted to play Priyanka's character Alex Parrish's love interest in her American TV series Quantico. Sid, who was then pursuing acting in London at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, had auctioned for the part but never made it to the final cut.
Why was Siddharth rejected?
Explaining why he wasn't selected for the role, Siddharth was quoted by DNA, "Priyanka's character is called Alex and I had read up for the part of her lover. I guess I didn't get the part because they wouldn't want two Indians opposite each other. But I have to tell you it was the best pilot script that I had read. I did a talent show with ABC, which is why I got to read for a lot of parts for their shows. Quantise was by far their best!."
While Priyanka had received a lot of criticism for being an Indian in an all American show, Deepika's ex-beau believed that he wouldn't be subjected to similar backlash as he didn't 'traditionally look Indian'. "I won't get nitpicked in the US, neither should she have. She probably was marketed as a Bollywood superstar, but I am not one, so I don't come with that baggage. Sid Mallya the name could also be from anywhere in the world. I don't traditionally look Indian."
Sid had also auditioned for a part in Matthew McConaughey's True Detective, which unfortunately didn't work out in his favour as well. "They loved my audition, but I didn't look like a gangster from any angle! A lot of people have said that I look ethnically ambiguous so that works in my favour. I could play Mexican, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, probably the last thing I could play is Indian," he had explained.
