Do You Know Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen Were first Choices for Fanaa?

If Aamir Khan had not voiced his preference, Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen would have joined forces for Fanaa.

The movie Fanaa, directed by Kunal Kohli, stars Aamir Khan, Kajol, Tabu, Rishi Kapoor, Shiney Ahuja, and Lara Dutta in supporting parts. You might be shocked to learn that these weren’t the initial options for the movie. Aditya Chopra, the film’s producer, preferred Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen.

The head of Yash Raj Films preferred Sushmita Sen to play the feisty officer Malini Tyagi, while he wanted Aishwarya Rai to play Zooni. It’s interesting to note that he even wanted Abhishek Bachchan to make a special cameo; Shiney Ahuja instead took the role. Why then did this first decision fail to come to pass?

The creator of the movie Aamir Khan immediately agreed to do this after Kunal Kohli presented the movie to him. He asked him to list three actors that immediately sprang to mind to play Zooni, leaving out Aishwarya Rai as he was curious about Aamir’s choice for the role.

He narrated, “We went to Aamir first and when we asked him who he thinks would play the role of Zooni the best, he said ‘I will give you three names and that is Kajol, Kajol, and Kajol.’” However, no one was sure if Kajol would agree since she had never worked with Aamir apart from Ishq.

It’s interesting to note that at the same time that Kajol was being cast for Fanaa, Karan Johar was also casting for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. She opted for Fanaa with Aamir Khan instead of Karan’s movie with Shah Rukh Khan since she didn’t like the plot. Fanaa was rocked by Kajol and Aamir, nevertheless.

We continue to ponder how intriguing a series of firsts it may have been if Sushmita Sen rather than Kajol had been cast as Tabu and Aishwarya Rai as Zooni. Aish and Sush have never worked together on film but have always been pitted against one another. The same is true for Ponniyin Selvan and actor Laal Singh Chaddha.

Fanaa was published in 2006 and quickly gained popularity and admiration for its plot and performances. In the movie, Kajol portrayed a blind woman who fell in love with an Aamir Khan-assisted terrorist.