Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s career has been marked by iconic roles and blockbuster hits including Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, and Khakee among others. However, there’s a fascinating twist to her journey which involves two of Bollywood’s biggest Khans. Before becoming the epitome of on-screen romance with Shah Rukh Khan (in Mohabbatein, Devdas and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil), Aishwarya was almost cast as Salman Khan’s sister. The duo, who were once rumoured to share a tumultuous yet high-profile relationship, could have graced the screen together, albeit as siblings in Josh.
In the 2000 Mansoor Khan directorial, Aishwarya starred opposite Chandrachur Singh, with Shah Rukh Khan playing her brother. But the initial plan, as revealed by the actress herself, was to cast Salman and Aamir Khan in the lead roles. “I think the cast was meant to be Aamir (Khan) and Salman at one point and eventually it became Shah Rukh and I think Aamir (Khan) was to play Chandrachur (Singh)’s role. So the cast kept changing at different points in time but Sherly remained Sherly. So I had said yes to Mansoor (Khan),” Aishwarya told Bollywood Hungama in an old interview.
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Fast forward a few years, and the possibility of a Salman Khan-Aishwarya Rai reunion on screen resurfaced with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ambitious project, Bajirao Mastani. The director had envisioned the reunion for a historical drama, with Salman as the titular Bajirao and Aishwarya as Mastani. However, fate had other plans. Aishwarya clarified the situation during an appearance on Koffee With Karan, stating, “He (Sanjay) did see us working as the cast that he saw was ideal for the film. But circumstantially, I could not work with the kind of team he was looking at.”
Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali with actor Aishwarya Rai on the set of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. (Photo: Express Archives)
While the actress expressed her willingness to play Mastani, she couldn’t envision working with Salman as Bajirao. Unfortunately, rumours took a different turn, with reports claiming Aishwarya walked out of the project. During the same interview, she clarified, “Well, I was game to play Mastani but not with the Bajirao he had in mind. So, this was evident probably nationally. The media made it out to be that Aishwarya walks out of Bajirao Mastani. We hadn’t communicated then because I was in hospital with my leg laid up.” For the unversed, Aishwarya met with an accident during the shoot of the 2004 film Khakee leaving her injured and with a broken leg.
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