Before Rani Mukerji was finalised to play Tina in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, several female actors of the time had rejected the role, including Raveena Tandon.
In an interview with ETimes, Tandon recently opened up about why she turned down the Karan Johar directorial.
Tandon told ETimes, "When Karan came to me for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, unfortunately, I was at a time when my career was zero. I was restarting entirely after the sabbatical, and I was quite messed up, and for me, it was something that I wanted. It was very difficult for me to explain to Karan about the situation that I was in. I really regret that till date, and we are still trying to work together."
The actor added that it was a "nice role", but she raised her concerns about playing a second lead to one of her contemporaries, Kajol, which wouldn't have fared well for her career. She further asserted that, had she taken up the role, she would only be offered second leads in other films.
The actor also revealed that she rejected the iconic 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' in Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dil Se.. because she didn't want to be labelled as an "item girl".
Expressing her regret over the decision, Tandon further told ETimes, "My biggest regret is also 'Chaiyya Chaiyya', by the way. I hear ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ and still get a pain in my heart. Mani sir called me, Shah Rukh had called me and said, 'Do this, but I was getting stereotyped as an item girl."
Even Shilpa Shetty was offered the song, but ultimately Malaika Arora performed on the iconic number with SRK.
Tandon went on to share that after she had done 'Sheher Ki Ladki' in Rakshak, she was only offered item songs. "I wanted to get back to that standing, and unfortunately, what happened with me was after ‘Sheher Ki Ladki’, I got offered so many ‘item songs’ like they were called at that time," she told the publication.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Tandon recently received the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, from President Draupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.
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