Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was the first choice for Aamir Khan’s Raja Hindustan, she rejected the film due to…

In the glitzy and glamorous world of Bollywood, many films come and go, but some rare gems remain etched in the hearts of the audience, hit home like no other. One such tale is of a film that came 29 years ago, but it still evokes a strong response and lingers long after.

The film that we are talking about is none other than the cult classic Raja Hindustani. Featuring celebrated actors Aamir Khan and Karisma Kapoor, this film hit gold at the box office and was cherished by fans for its impeccable performance of the actors, strong storyline, and blockbuster songs. Its two songs even made their way to international films.

While ‘Pardesi Pardesi’ was a part of the soundtrack of V For Vendetta, ‘Pucho Zara Pucho’ played in the background in Kate Winslet’s Holy Smoke. Audience hailed Aamir Khan and Karisma Kapoor’s sizzling chemistry.

However, what’s interesting is that the lead of this film, Karima Kapoor, wasn’t the choice of the filmmaker. The director of the film, Dharmesh Darshan, revealed in an interview that he chose Aishwarya Rai for this role initially, but because she had to travel for Miss World during that time, the project couldn’t be completed for her. “My heart was on her. But she urgently had to go for Miss World. I didn’t want to take any chances as I wanted an actress who could devote her full time to the film and Bollywood. It was her sheer grace that she didn’t hold it in her heart,” He shared.

Speaking further about his other film, Mela, which starred Twinkle Khanna, Aamir Khan, and Faisal Khan in the lead roles. He shared that Aishwarya agreed to do a cameo in the film for this reason. He later appreciated Aishwarya for showing grace and patience to do that part. Aishwarya Rai was at the top at that time, and she had even shared screen space with all the khans of Bollywood – Shah Rukh, Salman, and Aamir Khan.

Not only Raja Hindustani, but the filmmaker also shared that before finalising Twinkle Khanna for the role of female lead, he wanted to cast Aishwarya as the lead. However, even that couldn’t pan out. But unlike the blockbuster Raja Hindustani, Mela didn’t sit quite well at the box office and turned out to be a flop.

Twinkle Khanna is often seen joking about her performance in the film; she has even nudged the director for making her the lead in Mela. “What, sir? You gave a cameo to Aishwarya and such a big role to Twinkle Khanna”, revealed director Dharmesh Darshan.

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