Aishwarya Rai was supposed to play the role of 'Anjali' in 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham', which was played by Kajol.
The 2001 family drama, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is still imbibed in everyone’s heart as one of the classic films with a huge cast. Be it the sassy Poo (Pooja) or the carefree Punjabi kudi, 'Anjali', every character in the film gave something to remember. It was one of the highest-grossing Indian films of that time.
The blockbuster film holds a very special place in the hearts of many people. From songs, and dialogues to the climax, everything about the film was special. Do you know that Karan Johar had drawn inspiration from his own family to pen down each character of the film? And Kajol was never the first choice of Karan for the role of 'Anjali'.
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With the starry cast like Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, and Rani Mukerji, it was important for Karan that each character leaves a mark of their own. Karan had initially thought of casting Aishwarya Rai for the role of 'Anjali'. In a throwback interview, Karan talked about the same and said:
“When I was casting for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, I got to know that Kajol won’t be able to do the film because she was married and maybe she wanted to start a family. I thought I will approach Aishwarya. On that particular day, at 3 p.m. I reached Kajol’s studio and I thought she will say no, we will shed some tears and I will leave. I, of course, felt bad because Kajol had already worked with me.”
However, Karan was surprised when Kajol showed her willingness to star in the film. Recalling the same, Karan stated:
“But I don’t know what changed, Kajol actually wanted to do the film. So, I did not go to meet Aishwarya. But Aishwarya was my choice and after that, the series of ‘missing’ started.”
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Kajol awestruck millions with her stellar performance in the film, and her character of a Punjaban became everyone's favourite back then. However, not many people know the truth that Kajol had found it extremely difficult to learn the Punjabi dialogues in the film. Moreover, Shah Rukh Khan would annoy her on the sets with his fluent Punjabi.
There are many surprising facts about the film. It was Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan Khan who played the role of his father, Shah Rukh, as a child in the opening scenes of K3G. Similarly, in the film, K3G, Johny Lever and his son, Jesse Lever, played the role of a father-son duo as well.
Even after 21 years, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham holds a special place in everyone’s heart!
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