When Aishwarya Rai rejected THIS film, and said, 'had I done it, I would have been lynched'

New Delhi: Former Miss World and Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made her stunning acting debut in Mani Ratnam's 1997 Tamil film Iruvar and got her first break in Hindi films with Pyaar Ho Gaya in the same year. The buzz around Ash's beauty was high and filmmakers would queue up to sign her. But did you know, she rejected Karan Johar's maiden directorial 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'?

Recalling one of her old interviews with Filmfare, Aishwarya Rai then said, "I'm in a catch-22 situation, really. Though I'm a newcomer, I'm compared with all the senior actresses." She added, "If I'd done the film, it would have been tittered that, 'Look, Aishwarya Rai is back to doing what she did in her modelling days—leaving her hair straight, wearing minis, and pouting glamorously into the camera.' Ultimately, the hero goes back to the more real person. I know if I'd done Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, I would have been lynched."

When writing Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Karan Johar had Twinkle Khanna in mind for Tina's role. He has on several occasions confessed how only Ash was the only one to call him back. Other actresses who were offered the role included Urmila Matondkar and Tabu. 

The role eventually went to Rani Mukerji after filmmaker Aditya Chopra recommended her name to KJo. 

Kuch Kuch Hota Hia went on to become a massive success starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji. Meanwhile, Karan Johar and Aishwarya worked in the 2016 release Ae Dil Hai Mushkil featuring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.