When Aishwarya Rai Revealed Shah Rukh Khan Dropped Her From Nearly 5 Films, Including Veer Zaara & Chalte Chalte

Did you know Aishwarya Rai was rumored to be dropped from at least 5 films with Shah Rukh Khan, including Veer Zaara and Chalte Chalte?

Why Was Aishwarya Rai Dropped From Some Key Blockbusters With Shah Rukh Khan? (Photo Credit – Instagram)
Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai have collaborated on three blockbuster films: Mohabbatein, Devdas, and Josh. The fans highly appreciated their on-screen pairing, especially in Mohabbatein and Devdas.

However, a professional roadblock between them later in their professional lives led to Shah Rukh Khan allegedly dropping Aishwarya from some films where he was the lead actor. In an interview with Simi Garewal on her show Rendezvous, Aishwarya claimed that Shah Rukh Khan dropped her from at least five films, including Veer Zaara and Chalte Chalte.

It was reported that Rani Mukerji‘s role in Veer Zaara was for Aishwarya, but the latter was allegedly removed from the film at SRK’s insistence. When asked if the reports of SRK dropping her from the movies were true, Aishwarya simply replied that she didn’t have any answer, as no explanation was given to her on the same.

“How can I have the answer to that? Yes, at the time, there was talk of a couple of films that we would be working in together. And then, suddenly they weren’t happening, without any explanation whatsoever. I have never had the answer to why,” Indian Express quoted Aishwarya Rai.

Aishwarya stated that she was utterly taken aback, confused, and hurt. She also said that she didn’t feel the need to ask for an explanation as she never intended to. “It’s not in my nature to get into questioning what and why,” she said to Simi Garewal.

Shah Rukh Khan Apologized For Dropping Aishwarya Rai From His Movies

Shah Rukh Khan later regretted his decision to drop Aishwarya from some movies. He stated that he did wrong and that Aish was his very dear friend. “To start a project with someone and then change her for no fault of hers is very difficult. It is very sad as Ash is a good friend. Personally, I think I did wrong. But as a producer it made sense. I apologized to Ash,” SRK said in an interview with India Today in 2003.

It was believed that Shah Rukh dropped Aishwarya from some movies as her romantic relationship with actor Salman Khan was going rough at the time. Reports suggest that SRK had signed Aishwarya for the movie Chalte Chalte. However, the actress was dropped midway as Salman Khan had reached the film sets and created havoc. He is also believed to have rubbed shoulders with SRK, possibly leading him to drop him from the movie.

Some believe that the topic of Aishwarya Rai led to a physical brawl between Shah Rukh and Salman Khan at Katrina Kaif’s birthday party in 2008. However, the actors made up at Baba Siddiqui’s party five years later in 2013. Shah Rukh Khan also starred in a special role opposite Aishwarya Rai in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016).