Aishwarya Rai, the epitome of beauty and grace, is a popular face in Bollywood. Over the years, she acted in many films and swooned hearts with her enchanting on-screen presence. The diva's beauty, graceful dance moves, on-point expressions and everything else were proof of her being among the most sought-after actresses of her time. However, Aishwarya always chose and picked her movies and worked on her own terms.
The 1998 film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has been one of the cult favourite films ever made in the history of Indian cinema. The film had a stellar star cast of Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji and Kajol in the pivotal roles. The romantic drama marked Karan Johar's directorial debut and went on to become an iconic Bollywood film. However, not many know that the filmmaker had approached Aishwarya Rai for the role of 'Tina' but she straight away rejected the offer. Following this, it took Aishwarya and Karan 17 years to unite for their first big-screen project, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in 2016.
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Aishwarya Rai was just three movies old when she was offered the role of 'Tina'. Speaking about it, in an old interview with Filmfare, the actress revealed that she rejected the offer because she felt that if she had done the film, she would have been 'lynched'. Elaborating on it, Aishwarya had said:
"I'm in a catch-22 situation, really. Though I'm a newcomer, I'm compared with all the senior actresses. If I'd done the film, it would have been tittered that, 'Look, Aishwarya Rai is back to doing what she did in her modelling days—leaving her hair straight, wearing minis, and pouting glamorously into the camera.' Ultimately, the hero goes back to the more real person. I know if I'd done Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, I would have been lynched."
Karan Johar had initially written the role for Twinkle Khanna, but he once also confirmed that he offered the role to Aishwarya Rai. Once during an event, Karan revealed that he had approached Aishwarya Rai, Urmila Matondkar and Tabu, among others, with the role of 'Tina'. However, all the actresses turned him down. Later, it was filmmaker, Aditya Chopra, who recommended Rani Mukerji's name to Karan. He revealed:
“Ash was the only one who was polite to call me back. It took months to cast for Rani’s part after Aditya Chopra recommended me her name."
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Karan Johar's directorial, Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham, featured a starry cast like Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, and Rani Mukerji. However, not many know that Karan had initially thought of casting Aishwarya Rai for the role of 'Anjali'. In a throwback interview, Karan talked about the same and said that he was sure that Kajol would say 'No' to the film as she was planning to start a family back then. However, he was surprised when Kajol showed her willingness to star in the film. Recalling the same, Karan stated:
“When I was casting for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, I got to know that Kajol won’t be able to do the film because she was married and maybe she wanted to start a family. I thought I will approach Aishwarya. On that particular day, at 3 p.m. I reached Kajol’s studio and I thought she will say no, we will shed some tears and I will leave. But I don’t know what changed, Kajol actually wanted to do the film. So, I did not go to meet Aishwarya. But Aishwarya was my choice and after that, the series of ‘missing’ started.”
What are your views on Aishwarya Rai missing out on the opportunity to play a part in KKHH? Let us know.
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