Was Priyanka Chopra the OG Naagin? Ekta Kapoor reveals she wanted to make a film but the ‘actress went to America’

In a recent interview, Ekta spoke about how Indian audiences eagerly consume Western superhero films while often overlooking homegrown folklore-based stories.

‘India underestimates folklore’

Speaking to Usha Kakade Productions, Ekta said, “Mythology in India is deeply instilled in the people of this country. We grew up listening to these stories from our grandparents. Every kid in India knows that a naagin takes revenge. Yet, we watch movies like Batman and Superman, but we don’t care to show our Indian folklore on our screens—be it television or film.”

She also recalled that Naagin was originally conceived as a feature film. “I first wanted to make a film called Naagin. I had even gone to two big stars with the story—one said yes, the other refused. The actress who said yes went off to America. It was at that time that I decided to make Naagin into a television show.”

While she did not name the actors in the current interview, Ekta had earlier revealed that actor who had said yes was Priyanka Chopra, and the one who refused was Katrina Kaif.

When Ekta approached Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra for Naagin

Speaking to Film Companion in an earlier interview, Ekta had shared, “After The Dirty Picture, I decided to make Naagin as a film. I took the concept to two actresses. I remember going to Katrina and telling her I wanted to make something pathbreaking after Dirty Picture. When I said Naagin, she looked at me like I had smoked something really nice. Of course, that’s a joke. She was like, ‘Are you serious? Will people watch something called Naagin in today’s time?’ Then I went to PC—it was around the time she was going abroad.”

Later, clarifying her remarks in an interview with Pinkvilla, Ekta added context to the discussion. “I should have explained it better. They didn’t fully understand how big folklore is in India. Priyanka Chopra had said yes; Katrina didn’t quite grasp the scale of folklore at that time. But both these women are incredible. I admire and love them, and I hope to work with them in the future.”

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She added, “Katrina didn’t know Hindi, yet she fought her way through and built her career without coming from a film family. Priyanka has done exceptionally well too. I am mentioning this only to highlight how we often underestimate the power of Indian folklore.”

Shraddha Kapoor’s Naagin trilogy

While the film with Priyanka Chopra never materialised, years later, producer Nikhil Dwivedi said that he would be making Naagin as a film with Shraddha Kapoor headlining the project. Announced as a trilogy, the film was said to delve deep into the lore of shape-shifting naagin rooted in Indian folklore. The project was originally announced in 2020.

Wohoo… Shraddha as Nagin 🔥#ShraddhaKapoor pic.twitter.com/LgCuUekGyP

— 𝙍🌻 (@prettyyylilac) January 14, 2025

At the time, Shraddha shared on X, “It’s an absolute delight for me to play a Naagin on screen. I have grown up watching, admiring, and idolising Sridevi ma’am in Nagina and Nigahein, and have always wanted to portray a similar role rooted in Indian traditional folklore.”

Previously, Indian cinema has seen films like Jaani Dushman (1979), Nagina (1986), Nigahen (1989) that explored this folklore. Ekta Kapoor launched Naagin as a television show in 2015 with Mouni Roy. The show has had six seasons so far and is currently in the midst of its seventh season.