Kareena Kapoor didn’t ‘back out’ of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, she was asked to leave: Ameesha Patel recalls what Rakesh Roshan told her

Actor Kareena Kapoor, who made her Bollywood debut with Refugee, alongside Abhishek Bachchan in 2000, was initially set to debut in Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, opposite Hrithik Roshan. However, she left the project after filming for some days, and Ameesha Patel replaced her. While earlier reports suggested that Kareena’s mother wasn’t satisfied with how the project was coming along and advised her to back out, Ameesha claimed in an interview that the filmmaker told her something different.

In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, when the subject was brought up, Ameesha said, “Actually, she didn’t back out. From what Rakesh ji told me, he asked her to leave the film because they were having differences. And Pinkie aunty, his wife and Hrithik’s mom, said that they were shocked because the set was ready, and a replacement Sonia had to be found in three days, and crores of rupees (had been spent) on that set, and it was Hrithik’s debut and everyone was really stressed. Pinky aunty told me that the day Rakesh saw me at the wedding, he did not sleep all night. He was like ‘I got my Sonia, I got my Sonia, but I hope she says yes’.”

She added, “Rakesh uncle always says, ‘This girl paid attention to everything I taught her on sets.’ He always praises me and says I was a blessing in disguise.” Ameesha said that Rakesh first met her at a wedding when she was just a teenager, and told her that when she’s old enough, he’d cast her in a film.

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In an interview with Filmfare, Kareena had said that she is ‘glad’ she did not do the film. She had said, “The film was made for Hrithik. His dad spent five hours on every frame and close-up of his, whereas not even five seconds were spent on Ameesha.  There are portions in the film where she has pimples and under-eye bags on her face. She just doesn’t look beautiful, but every shot of his was a dream.  So, I’m glad I didn’t do the film.”

Ameesha is currently basking in the success of Gadar 2, which has made nearly Rs 500 crore at the box office. Kareena, on the other hand, will soon be seen in the Netflix thriller Jaane Jaan.