Shah Rukh Khan’s Chalte Chalte was initially offered to another actress before Rani Mukerji ended up seizing the role.
The 2003 romantic Bollywood movie, that made the audience witness the stunning chemistry of Khan and Mukerji once again after their hit collaboration in 1998 Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and the actress’ cameo in 2001 K3G, was initially supposed to cast actress Ameesha Patel in the lead role.
In a recent interview with BeautybyBie, the Bhool Bhulaiyaa actress opened up about the highs and lows of her career, during which she revealed how Chalte Chalte was supposed to cast her in the lead role but ended up featuring Rani Mukerji.
The actress also shared how the Pathaan actor reacted after knowing her decision to decline the offer.
While, Ameesha Patel stated that she never regretted any of her decisions, the actress revealed that she never knew being offered the role in Chalte Chalte until Khan took her into the dubbing studio prior to the film release.
“When the film was about to release and Shah Rukh was dubbing for it, he took me into the dubbing studio and showed me a few edits. He said, ‘Come, Let me show you a few edits of some footage of a film that you declined.’ I replied, ‘Shah Rukh, what have I declined?’ and he said, ‘This film,'” recalled Patel.
In another interview conducted earlier this year, the Gadar 2 actress stated, “For a long time, there was a hierarchy of secretaries and managers; they didn’t let projects get to the actor. There was a lot of that.”
This statement gives a clear idea of what led Ameesha Patel miss the chance to star alongside Shah Rukh Khan.
Meanwhile, Ameesha Patel was last seen in 2024 film Tauba Tera Jalwa, while Shah Rukh Khan is currently busy filming for his upcoming movie King alongside daughter Suhana Khan and actor Abhishek Bachchan. The movie is scheduled to release in 2026.
