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MUMBAI: Karan Johar, the director, remembered the tale of how he chose Rani Mukerji for his first movie, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and the moment he realized she would become a huge celebrity. In a recent interview, Karan acknowledged that before he approached Rani on the advice of the producer Aditya Chopra, a number of actors had already rejected him.
Karan recalled how Rani gained the self-assurance she would maintain throughout her career as a result of a public statement made by Farah Khan on the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai set.
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He said, “I’d gone to every lead actress to do the Rani part. Everyone had said no to me. It started with Twinkle Khanna, and I wrote the character for her. She didn’t ‘feel the part’ and then I went to several other actresses, who all said no to me. I was like I may have to wear a short skirt and do the role myself.”
Karan added, “Ironically, Aditya Chopra calls me and says, ‘Have you seen this film Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat? There’s a girl called Rani Mukerji, and you should meet her. I went to her place, narrated the film, and she also said she’ll take a day (to decide). She called me and asked, ‘How will you convince an audience that Shah Rukh loves me over Kajol?’ Because Shah Rukh and Kajol had just done Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. I couldn’t tell her that I didn’t have a choice. But on the first day of filming, I knew that a star was born, and I’ll tell you what happened.”
He described the moment he realized Rani would become a star, saying, “We were shooting the song Koi Mil Gaya, it was Shah Rukh, Kajol and Rani. Farah Khan was the director of choreography. Rani was the only one who’d rehearsed the song. We were shooting, and the first thing we did was the hook step. We were doing a wide shot. Shot got over and Kajol and Shah Rukh looked at Rani, and Kajol said, ‘You’re doing something wrong’. From the mic, Farah said, ‘She’s the only one doing it right, y’all are all doing rubbish’. And in that moment, a star and her confidence was born.”
Similar trouble was experienced by Karan in filling the role that ultimately went to Salman Khan. He claimed, Salman ultimately agreed. Karan opposed Salman's request to film a song sequence in a T-shirt and torn pants on location. Only when Karan started crying, Salman accept it. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was a huge success and is regarded as a classic of the 1990s.
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Credits - The Indian Express
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