Did You Know This Actor Was Karan Johar's First Choice For Kajol's Role in K3G?

Karan Johar recently revealed the name of the actor he wanted to cast in K3G before Kajol.

Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan in a still from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

(Photo Courtesy: Pinterest)

Kajol played one of the most memorable characters in Karan Johar's 2001 cult classic, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. However, in his recent interview, the director revealed that Kajol was never his first choice to play Anjali Sharma's character.

In his conversation with Komal Nahta, Johar revealed that he initially wanted to cast Aishwarya Rai opposite Shah Rukh Khan, who played one of the leads in the film.

Speaking to Nahta, Johar shared, "When I was casting for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, I got to know that Kajol won’t be able to do the film because she was married and maybe she wanted to start a family. I thought I will approach Aishwarya. On that particular day, at 3.00 pm I reached Kajol’s studio and I thought she will say no, we will shed some tears and I will leave. I, of course, felt bad because Kajol had already worked with me.

"But I don’t know what changed, Kajol actually wanted to do the film. So, I did not go to meet Aishwarya. But Aishwarya was my choice, and after that, the series of ‘missing’ started," he added.

Aishwarya Rai and Kajol.

In an earlier interview with a news publication, Aishwarya had also opened up about Johar reaching out to her with the script of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. She had said, "He (Karan Johar) did come to me with K3G also, but then his script went in for a change. So the character did change. I know that for sure because I know what was narrated to me and what I saw on screen eventually was different. Of course, Kajol was fabulous. But that also went, and I could not do it."

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham was a family drama that boasted a stellar ensemble cast of SRK, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Rishan, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, and Farida Jalal, among others.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Johar is currently gearing up for the release of his next film, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani, starring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh.