Bajirao Mastani, one of the star director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s most talked-about films, was one of these. The initial celebrity cast of the movie, which included Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai, was a major factor. As Salman Khan and Bhansali were co-starring in Khamoshi: The Musical, the movie was being prepared.
The two resumed their work on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam after a break, and Bhansali was interested in them as the lead actors for his ambitious film Bajirao Mastani. Salman and Aish were having a great time together both on and off-screen. Her recasting for Bhansali, however, proved to be a fleeting fantasy as the pair moved toward a contentious divorce.
Salman Khan, however, remained tenacious and driven to finish Bajirao Mastani. For understandable reasons, Aishwarya Rai decided against participating. Bhansali, however, was reluctant to move further with the project until the twin performers unexpectedly showed up at his house one day with a girl. To find out what occurred next, scroll down.
An fascinating incident on the Bajirao Mastani casting was discussed by Subhash K. Jha in one of his columns. He said, “Salman wanted Bhansali to put Katrina Kaif as Mastani after the Aishwarya-Salman coupling failed. Katrina was actually brought to SLB’s home by Salman, who introduced her to the director by saying, “Yeh tumhari mastani hai.” Some things, though, are not meant to be. Can we picture Katrina speaking only in Hindi-Urdu, as opposed to picturing her riding a horse?
Katrina Kaif was not the actress Bhansali wanted to play Mastani. Subsequently, as indicated in the same column, he made another attempt to resurrect the initiative. Bhansali made the decision to work with Salman and Kareena Kapoor on the 2003 film Bajirao Mastani. Bhumika Chawla was suggested by Salman to be Bajirao’s first bride. Leela Sanjay During her screen test for the part, Bhansali’s saree was set ablaze by a diya. Although there was no harm done, Chawla’s tryout was over. After 12 years, Bhansali brought the project back. This time, he choose Ajay Devgan for Bajirao because of his Maharashtrian heritage. But Devgn demanded a sum that insiders claimed was outrageous,” Jha writes.
Do you believe that Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone would have formed a better Bajirao-Mastani coupling than Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif? Comment below with your thoughts and let us know.