''I did not even think twice": Lara Dutta reveals she turned down a role in 'The Matrix' franchise

After a long hiatus former Miss Universe and actress Lara Dutta returned to the big screen with Akshay Kumar starrer, Bell Bottom. The Housefull actress in her recent interview has now revealed that she was offered a role in ‘The Matrix’ franchise and had to turn it down. Lara said that it was a tough time. She had not even started out in Bollywood. But the actress was very clear about what she wanted in life. Everything else came second. She just had to be with her ailing mother at the time. Lara revealed that she did not even think twice and came back to India. The actress also reportedly clarified that it wasn’t like she came here thinking she has Bollywood as a backup. At the time, Lara just wanted to be her mother since she was extremely unwell.

The actress further expressed her views on how her methods of taking up projects has gradually changed with time. She stressed that earlier women were compartmentalized in certain images but with the coming of OTT, better scripts and content is being offered to the female leads. “With the OTT, a variety of content is being written and various kinds of people are writing. So, someone could think of a 40-year-old woman doing these roles. If you see me doing different kinds of roles now, that has a lot more to do with what is on offer now”, she added. On the work front, Lara Dutta recently bagged Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Award for her spectacular performance as Indira Gandhi in Bell Bottom. She recently featured in a few digital projects including Hiccups and Hookups, Hundred, and Kaun Banegi Shikharwati.