New Delhi . Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai are among those Bollywood couples who were loved by the audience on screen. Both of them worked together in films like Mohabbatein, Devdas and Josh and their onscreen chemistry made a lot of headlines. But there came a time when an issue regarding films came up between the two which caught the attention of the entire industry. The surprising thing was that Aishwarya Rai was left out of about five films of Shahrukh Khan. Later, Shahrukh Khan himself admitted that he regretted this decision.
The most popular part of this story is related to the film Chalte Chalte, released in 2003. According to reports, Aishwarya Rai was considered the first choice for this film and she was going to be seen with Shahrukh Khan in the film. But circumstances changed during the shooting and Rani Mukherjee was included in the film in place of Aishwarya. The pairing of Shahrukh and Rani in the film was greatly appreciated by the audience and was successful at the box office.
At that time, the controversy related to Salman Khan was mentioned as the reason for Aishwarya's removal from the film. According to reports, the ongoing tension in the relationship between Salman and Aishwarya had an impact on the shooting environment as well. It was told that the shooting was affected due to Salman's arrival on the set and the controversy that arose there. In such a situation, the producers of the film were faced with the challenge of completing the project on time. Later, both Aishwarya and Salman had also apologized to Shahrukh but considering the condition of the film, it was not possible to change the decision.
However, this matter was not limited to just walking. Aishwarya Rai had told in an old interview that there were many films in which she was going to work with Shahrukh Khan but suddenly she was removed from those projects. Among these, names of films like Veer Zara and Kal Ho Na Ho also appeared. Aishwarya had admitted that when a film gets shelved without any apparent reason, it is naturally painful for the artiste. According to him, in such circumstances a person starts questioning himself why this happened.
Interestingly, after some time Shahrukh Khan also expressed his views regarding this decision. He had admitted that removing Aishwarya from films was not an easy decision for him and he feels that he did wrong. However, he also clarified that as a producer, sometimes decisions are not taken alone. The entire team and other production partners are also associated with him and it is the responsibility of completing the film within the stipulated time.
Shahrukh also praised Aishwarya's professionalism. He admitted that she has been one of his favorite co-stars and it has been a great experience working with her. According to him, the decision taken at that time was more related to professional circumstances than personal.
In later years, Shahrukh and Aishwarya maintained respect for each other. The memories of their friendship and working together in films are still included in the popular stories of Bollywood. This story also shows that despite having big stars in the film industry, the final decision regarding a project is not in the hands of just one person. The situation, producer, time and requirements of the film also play an important role. Shahrukh's later acceptance of his mistake is considered to be the most interesting aspect of this old controversy.