Aishwarya Rai, Sridevi said no to Mohra; Raveena Tandon was hesitant to do the role due to a kissing scene with Akshay Kumar: ‘My dad…’

Raveena Tandon was yet to become a star in the movies when she was signed on for Rajiv Rai’s 1994 film Mohra, which also starred Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty. With songs like “Tip Tip Barsa Pani” and “Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast,” the film proved to be a successful bet for Raveena, but she wasn’t the first choice for the role. In an earlier interview, co-screenplay writer of the film Shabbir Boxwala had shared that the makers had considered Aishwarya Rai and Sridevi for the role before they went to Raveena.

Mohra, which also starred Suniel Shetty and Akshay Kumar, first began production with actor Divya Bharti. The makers shot with her for a few days but due to her untimely passing, they had to recast the role. In a chat with Bollywood Hungama, Shabbir had shared that Sridevi, who was a massive star at the time, and Aishwarya, who had not made her debut until then, were also offered the film. “I saw Aishwarya’s pictures and liked them. Rajiv asked me to call her. But she couldn’t do the film as she was preparing for Miss World,” he recalled. Mohra wasn’t the only film that Aishwarya was offered, she was also offered Yash Chopra’s Darr, which she also couldn’t do because of her commitment with the beauty pageant.

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He also shared that Sridevi was offered the film and implied that she didn’t take up the film because Akshay and Suniel were yet to establish themselves in the movies. “And yes, we offered Mohra to Sridevi too. However, we didn’t have big male stars. Akshay and Suniel were not known. So, any heroine would think twice before saying yes to Mohra. Nobody imagined in their wildest dreams that one song ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast’ would change everything for Akshay and the film,” he said.

When the makers ultimately offered the film to Raveena, she initially hesitated to take it up, and that was because of a kissing shot between her and Akshay in the song “Tip Tip Barsa Paani”. “Raveena had met Rajiv. She knew that it was a good project but she was apprehensive, as there was a peck in the ‘Tip Tip Barsa Paani’ song. She said that her father won’t appreciate it. To which Rajiv said, ‘Don’t show the film to your dad’ (laughs)! Finally, she agreed,” Shabbir said.

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