Shilpa Shirodkar says she lost Chaiyya Chaiyya to Malaika Arora as she was considered ‘too fat’, Farah Khan says ‘5 heroines refused to climb on train’

Shilpa was ‘disappointed’ that she couldn’t dance with Shah Rukh on “Chaiyya Chaiyya” which later on became a chartbuster. But she did get a chance to share the screen with him in Gaja Gamini, for only one scene though. However, for her, it was a “dream come true”.

‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ was shot on a moving train on the railway track between Ooty and Coonoor. It was choreographed by Farah Khan for whom shooting the song was a “fab experience”. It was composed by AR Rahman and sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi. Gulzar penned the lyrics of the chartbuster.

On the first episode of Malaika Arora’s Disney Plus Hotstar show, Moving In With Malaika, Farah had also revealed that not just Shilpa Shirodkar, but even Shilpa Shetty was considered for the song. She said, “You’re the Chaiyya Chaiyya girl. But luckily for you, some five heroines had refused to climb on the train. Malaika was nowhere on the radar. We approached Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Shilpa Shirodkar, and 2-3 other people.”

Shilpa Shirodkar rose to fame in the late 80s and 90s. But she faded into oblivion after her marriage in the 2000. She made her comeback to acting with some daily soaps on television.