Alia Bhatt lost out Neerja to Sonam Kapoor coz of her height?

Though the Neerja makers have maintained that Sonam Kapoor was the first choice for the role, strong reports suggest that Alia Bhatt was also in the running of the film and she lost out coz of her height...

The latest reports suggest that the Kapoor & Sons actress was the front runner for the hijack drama...

Sonam Kapoors Neerja has been the bestest film of 2016 till now after the film received appreciation from all corners of India as well as made good profit at the domestic box office. The film was based on the life of air hostess Neerja Bhanot who sacrificed her life while saving 359 lives from a hijacked plane. Everyone was touched by the story and Sonams performance was well appreciated. But, did you know that Alia Bhatt was also in the running for the film?

While the director and the producers had always maintained that Sonam was the first choice, we hear a strong report that has SHOCKED us! A leading web portal reported that Fox Star Studios wanted Alia Bhatt to play the role of Neerja, however Atul Kasbekar and his team thought that Sonam would fit the role better. The final call came down to their height (most air hostesses are tall and Neerja was too) and as Sonam is approximately five inches taller, she won the battle against Alia!

However, in an interview with us, producer Atul Kasbekar had EXCLUSIVELY mentioned to us, "Sonam was always the first choice. We ran the 7-page rough script through Sonam and told her that we are planning to make this movie, we (Bling) are thinking of turning producers with this film and she said You are mad.' We still told her to read the script and she read it and told that it is great. We told her that we wanted her to act in it and that's when she said, You are completely mad!'"

But, reports indicate that Fox Star had suggested Alia's name and after the discussion, Sonam was chosen to play the part. So, Sonam was the first choice, but Alia was also in the running.

Neerja has earned about Rs 70-75 crore (nett) at the domestic box office and experts have suggested that this film will change Sonam's career. But what if Alia was in the film? Will she have made a larger impact?