Neha Dhupia expresses regret over turning down roles in Shah Rukh Khan’s Chak De India and Operation Safed Sagar

Neha Dhupia has revealed that she turned down two projects that she later wished she had been a part of. The actor said she was offered Chak De India, the 2007 sports drama starring Shah Rukh Khan , but declined the opportunity. She also revealed that she turned down the critically acclaimed web series Operation Safed Sagar .

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 actor admitted that some of those decisions have stayed with her.

“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 film, a good military film, but have missed these two big opportunities," she said.

Released in 2007, Chak De India was a sports drama produced by Yash Raj Films. The film 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 film also features Vidya Malavade, Shilpa Shukla, Sagarika Ghatge and Chitrashi Rawat, among others.

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.

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 celebrity chat show on YouTube that she hosts with her husband, Angad Bedi.

The show has featured celebrity couples such as Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Tejasswi Prakash and Karan Kundrra, among others. Neha was also recently seen in Don't Be Shy, a film 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 film reviews, opinion pieces, nostalgic features, celebrity interviews, and trend-driven stories.