Richa Chadha recalls getting offered role of Hrithik Roshan’s mother at age 21: ‘Refused it on moral ground’

Apart from being an acclaimed filmmaker, Farah Khan is also an incredible dancer and choreographer. Among the many songs she has choreographed in her career, Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se continues to remain an iconic song even after so many years. In an interview, Khan revealed that many actresses including Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shetty rejected performing in the song.

Farah Khan says Shilpa Shetty and Raveena Tandon rejected Chhaiya Chhaiya

In the peppy track Chaiyya Chaiyya from the movie Dil Se, Malaika Arora danced with Shah Rukh Khan on a moving train. It was something that wasn’t ever attempted by anyone. But before Malaika agreed to perform in the song, multiple actresses were approached. Even stars like Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shetty rejected the offer, revealed Farah Khan during an event. “Every heroine had refused to do that song. So that’s what I say: ‘You have to be on the right time at the right place’,” she said.

Farah Khan reveals how she got Malaika Arora on board

During the same event, the Main Hoon Na director also shared how Malaika was finally brought on board. She said, “Nobody knew Malaika was a model. I knew her because we knew Arbaaz (Khan) then she was seeing him. I didn’t even know she can dance.”

In an earlier interview with IANS, Khan said that everyone says that she discovered Deepika Padukone. However, it was Malaika first. “She is my first child. Two days before the shoot of the song, I called Malaika to do this song. Before her, we had approached six-seven heroines but, nothing worked out. We were in a fix about whom to choose for this song. That’s when Mickey Contractor told me that Malaika is a very good dancer. I said, ‘Malaika is a model’, and I wondered how she would do this Indian dance in a ghagra-choli. So, I called her to Ooty two days before, and we rehearsed at night, and we shot during the day,” she spilled.

The Om Shanti Om director-producer also recalled that Malaika was trembling on the train. “We just made her climb the train. She was trembling; literally, there was no safety, nothing. She had no makeup on, just kajal and a tattoo that Geeta (Kapur) made on her arms. And of course, Shah Rukh was there with her.”

Also Read: 8 Award-Winning Bollywood Films That Questions On The Faith In Indian Cinema

Richa Chadha on playing an older girl in Gangs of Wasseypur

In Gangs of Wasseypur, Richa portrayed an older character. Explaining why she accepted the role, the actor noted that in the Anurag Kashyap film, her character wasn’t the only one that aged. She mentioned that in Gangs of Wasseypur, she never thought she would stand out. Everyone’s narrative was set 30-40 years in the future, and there was no particular focus on her. She added, “The truth is that Manoj Bajpayee, Huma Qureshi, Piyush Mishra, all of them had undergone aging in that film.”

Richa Chadha is set to appear in Anubhav Sinha’s upcoming film Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai. The movie features a cast that includes Saurabh Shukla, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Pavan Malhotra, Divya Dutta, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Cyrus Broacha, Prateik Babbar, and Shriya Pilgaonkar.

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