Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who made his mark in Hollywood with "Elizabeth", is surprised at the reports claiming that he refused to helm Spanish actress Penelope Cruz's movie.

"Why would any director in his right mind say no to Penelope Cruz? I hear the media has been saying that. Not true, " Shekhar, 65, wrote on his microblogging site Twitter.

A media report stated that Cruz had approached Kapur to direct her production venture based on Javier Moro's novel "Passion India", but the director turned down the offer saying he was busy with "Paani", which is likely to star Hrithik Roshan and "Twilight" actress Kristen Stewart.

After making his mark on Indian celluloid by directing critically acclaimed "Masoom", box office hit masala sci-fi comedy "Mr. India" and reality-based "Bandit Queen", Kapur embarked on a challenging journey in Hollywood with "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and "The Four Feathers".