Beauty Queen Aishwarya Rai completed her 20 years in Bollywood. Aishwarya began her film career with the 1997 Tamil film Iruvar directed by Mani Ratnam.
Aishwarya featured in notable films such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Taal, Mohabbatein, Devdas, Dhoom 2, Guru, Provoked and Jodhaa Akbar among several others. However, there were other films that the actress refused to take up for almost inexplicable reasons. Raja Hindustani, Dil To Pagal Hai and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai are some of the movies that Aish was offered but chose not to be a part of.
she said, “Even before winning the titles, I was being pursued. Dharmesh Darshan had offered me Raja Hindustani; Yashji (Yash Chopra) wanted to launch me in Maine Toh Mohabbat Kar Li, which became Dil To Pagal Hai.”
The actress added, “During the title year, both Mani Ratnam and Rajiv Menon got in touch. I was an admirer of Mani Ratnam’s cinema, so Iruvar happened. Again, my story was an unconventional one. Unlike other newcomers who waited to see the fate of their first film, I’d already signed two to three films. Long story short, when I started shooting Iruvar with Mani, my inner voice told me this was home.”
The story behind Aish rejecting Karan Johar’s directorial debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is an interesting one. Talking about it, she had revealed in an old interview, “As far as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai goes, Karan Johar did approach me, but the dates he needed were committed to the RK film. Moreover, Kuch Kuch…belonged to Kajol. No two ways about that. Having said that, let me add that Rani Mukherjee did a terrific job.”
The actress had further said, “If I’d done Kuch Kuch…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.”
Aishwarya, whose recent works include Jazbaa, Sarbjit and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, will be seen next in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Fanne Khan.
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