Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji starrer, Chalte Chalte is still loved by many people. Produced by Dreamz Unlimited (later transformed into Red Chillies Entertainment), the movie garnered the lead actors immense love from the audience. However, not many know that Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai were the first choice for Chalte Chalte, and they had even begun shooting for the film. But in a major turn of events, Aishwarya was replaced midway by Rani Mukerji.
During his appearance on the chat show, Rendezvous With Simi Garewal, Aishwarya Rai revealed that she was replaced from Chalte Chalte without any explanation. Now, a video of Shah Rukh Khan has surfaced on Reddit, in which he opened up about his decision to replace Aishwarya and confessed that he regretted doing so. SRK called Aishwarya, a very close friend, and mentioned that he genuinely felt sorry for the latter. He was heard saying:
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“Very saddened at the fact that Aishwarya was a very close friend, I have done some really marvelous films with her and I genuinely mean that. She has been one of my favourite co-actresses and we’ve done some really nice work — Josh, Mohabbatein, Devdas — and enjoyed together, and we get along really well. Personally, it is very saddening not to… for something to reach at this level. I feel very sorry about it and I genuinely do.”
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Shah Rukh Khan further added that since he was not the only producer for the film, his hands were tied. He also shared that the decision to replace Aishwarya was taken by 10-11 people as the reputation of the whole company was at stake. However, SRK stated that he admired Aishwarya personally and was saddened when the latter parted ways with Salman. He said:
“As a producer, my hands were tied because I am not the only producer. I have a team of people and this time we also have UTV who is working with us. The collective decision of 10-11 people. We were also not been doing very well as producers. That was at stake. The whole company’s reputation is at stake, we wanted to finish the film in three to four months. Personally, if you ask me, Aishwarya is very professional but I think we were a little sadden by the whole affair and we thought it wasn’t meant to be. It was not superstition, it was a professional decision and even professionally we feel very bad. There’s no two ways about it.”
Click here to watch the video.
Aishwarya Rai started dating Salman Khan while shooting their film, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. However, she decided to end things in March 2002, stating that her and Salman's relationship had reached a dead end. Later, things got ugly when an infuriated Salman created a ruckus on the sets of Shah Rukh and Aishwarya starrer, Chalte Chalte. So, director, Aziz Mirza, who was present on the sets, called off the shoot. Although Salman and Aishwarya apologised to SRK for the former's behaviour, leaving the final decision of casting her in the film in his hands. After much thought, Aishwarya was replaced with Rani Mukerji.
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After their infamous fight in 2008, Salman Khan and SRK remained unfriendly yet cordial for several years. At a leadership Summit back in 2012, Shah Rukh spoke about his bond with Salman and stated that even if they patched up, it would never be in front of the public eye. Shah Rukh added:
“We have had a little bit of personal issue. This is not the first time, it is about four years ago. We were very close for 20 years… We have certain things that are similar and there are certain things which we disagree on. So at this point of time, we are on that plane of disagreement.”
During the promotion of Jab Tak Hai Jaan, in an interview, Shah Rukh Khan’s co-star, Katrina Kaif was asked to draw comparisons between the former and Salman Khan. To this, the actress wittingly shared that she’d love to see them in a film together, which would probably be produced by her. Meanwhile, Shah Rukh joked that he would do the film for Katrina’s sake and then addressed his spat with Salman. He shared:
“There may come a time when these things get resolved but it will never be on a public platform. It will be a personal thing. It is a serious matter and it cannot be resolved by working in a film together or if someone asks us to try and resolve the matter. None else can resolve it for us, only we can do it... It will take time. It may happen someday.”
What are your views on Shah Rukh Khan's decision to replace Aishwarya Rai in Chalte Chalte?
Next Read: Jaya Bachchan Wanted 'Bahu', Aishwarya Rai To Shoulder Her Burdens, Shweta Said 'Don't Do That Mom'
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