No one had faith in Hrithik Roshan; they were more interested in Abhishek Bachchan, Fardeen Khan: Ameesha Patel recalls Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai release

Actor Ameesha Patel, who was recently seen in Gadar 2 opposite Sunny Deol, has opened up about people not having faith in her when she decided to play the role of Sakeena in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. The actor also called her debut film Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai an underdog, and recalled how people did not have faith in Hrithik Roshan because Abhishek Bachchan and Fardeen Khan were also debuting at the same time.

In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Ameesha said, “I was shooting for Gadar while shooting for Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, so it was more of a challenge for me.” Ameesha explained that most of her films portrayed her as ‘young, glamorous and  bubbly’. She added, “And then it was a challenge for me to play a mother and go back to a 1947-55 era of Independence. People didn’t have faith in the film. People didn’t have faith in Zee being able to pull it off, because with Gadar, they came in as first-time producers.”

She added, “They were like, ‘How are you going to do something? Why will you work with such a senior actor? Why will you play a mother’s role so early in your career?’ And I was like, ‘What’s wrong with being a mother’?”

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Talking about Hrithik’s debut, Ameesha said, “Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was an underdog. No one had faith in Hrithik. Everyone was saying that Mr Bachchan’s son is coming, there’s Feroz Khan’s son coming – all these people, who were established, big actors. Even though Rakesh Roshan was a great actor, they didn’t have that kind of faith in Hrithik’s potential.”

Ameesha also said that when Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was being released, Rakesh Roshan was advised not to release it between Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan’s films. Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Mela were scheduled for release at around the same time.