Aamir Khan’s ‘Raja Hindustani’ was a blockbuster upon its release, catapulting Aamir Khan to superstardom and solidifying his position as one of the top actors in the industry. However, the film’s lead heroine, Karisma Kapoor, who portrayed the character Aarti Sehgal, was not the director Dharmesh Darshan’s first choice.
In an exclusive interview with Lehren Retro, the filmmaker revealed that Karisma was not the initial pick for the film. His first choice had been Juhi Chawla, with whom he had previously worked on ‘Lootere.’
Dharmesh Darshan stated, ‘In an interview, Juhi admitted that it was foolish of her not to take the role. She showed great humility. Most people provide excuses and blame the director, but she candidly acknowledged that I approached her, but due to poor advice, she made a wrong decision, despite our prior successful collaboration and the exceptional role.’
He went on to reveal that after Juhi declined the role, he approached his first cousin, Pooja Bhatt, for the part. However, due to certain issues related to the costume designer and to maintain the family bond between brother and sister, Dharmesh did not cast Pooja in the film.
Subsequently, Dharmesh considered Aishwarya Rai for the role, but unfortunately, she couldn’t commit to the film as she had prior obligations as Miss World.
One day he went to meet Juhi Chawla, he coincidentally encountered Karisma Kapoor at the Anand Theatre where she was dubbing. He noticed Juhi wasn’t quite the right fit for the role, and the next day, he finalized Karisma Kapoor for the part.”
‘Raja Hindustani’ was released in the year 1996 and it features actors like Aamir Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Kunal Khemu, Archana Puran Singh, Johnny Lever, Suresh Oberoi and Navneet Nishan in lead roles.