Ameesha Patel On Kareena Kapoor's Exit From Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai: "Rakesh Ji Asked Her To Leave"
NDTV
Ameesha Patel also revealed that Rakesh Roshan saw her at a wedding and decided to cast her
Ameesha Patel, who is basking in the success of Gadar 2, has revealed Kareena Kapoor was asked to leave Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. In case you don't know, Kareena, who marked her Bollywood debut with Abhishek Bachchan's Refugee in 2000, was initially set to debut alongside Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai. But after shooting for a few days, Kareena was replaced by Ameesha. While earlier reports suggested that Kareena's mother, Babita Kapoor, pulled her out of the project as she wasn't satisfied with how the story was coming out, Ameesha claimed that “he [Rakesh Roshan] had asked her [Kareena] to leave the film.” In a conversation with Bollywood Bubble, Ameesha revealed that Rakesh Roshan and Kareena had differences.
Ameesha Patel 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.” The Gadar 2 actress revealed that the makers had to find Sonia's [the character played by Ameesha] replacement in three days, as the set was ready. She said, “And Pinkie [Roshan] 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 stressed.”
Ameesha Patel added that Rakesh Roshan saw her at a wedding and decided to cast her. The actress also said that when she was offered Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, she had no idea about the back story. Ameesha said, “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'. 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.”