Bollywood, for many actresses, will be the last destination. After gaining a foothold in South films, actresses, normally, dream to work in Hindi films. It is mainly for the pay-cheque that Bollywood films offer and the visibility that they get across the world by working in a B-town flick.

Nayanthara and Chennai Express
Nayanthara and Chennai Express.Social Media Site

Many actresses like Kajal Aggarwal or Tamannaah Bhatia from North India or Mumbai have used South films as a stepping stone to fulfil their desire to work in Bollywood. At the same time, there are some South actresses like Nayanthara, who have turned down the offer to work in the Hindi film industry.

Nayan Rejected The Chennai Express Offer
Nayanthara had received a lot of offers to work in Bollywood, but she rejected for one or the other reason. Notably, she was approached for the special number in Shah Rukh Khan's Chennai Express, but she did not take up the project, which raised many eyebrows, back then. 

Actresses, normally, used to go to any extent to work with Shah Rukh Khan at one point of time and Chennai Express, during the making, was hitting a lot of headlines in Mumbai-media as well as South media.

The Reason Why Nayan Turned Down the Offer
However, Nayan's decision to turn down the offer came as a surprise to many, but why did she refuse to work in Chennai Express? Well, she turned down the offer for two reasons.

Nayanthara
Nayanthara.PR Handout

Firstly, she was unwilling to do a special number. The other reason is that the song was being choreographed by Raju Sundaram, the brother of her ex-boyfriend Prabhu Deva. Rumours were rife then that she was not comfortable to work with Sundaram. Hence, she decided to politely turn down the offer.

Later, Priyamani was approached for the song '1 2 3 4' and it special number went to become a big hit. The film, which had Deepika Padukone in the female lead, turned out to be a blockbuster at the box office.