While Deepika and Saif’s pairing was new and appreciated by fans, many are not aware that Saif Ali Khan initially wanted his then-girlfriend, Kareena Kapoor, to play the lead opposite him
New Delhi: It is a known fact among Deepika Padukone’s fandom out there that the actor really turned a tide with her performance in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Love Aaj Kal’ in 2009. Deepika established herself as a rising star in Bollywood with her performance in the film. ‘Love Aaj Kal’ starred Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan, Rishi Kapoor and Giselli Monteiro.
When Saif Wanted Kareena To Be A Part Of ‘Love Aaj Kal’
While Deepika and Saif’s pairing was new and appreciated by fans, many are not aware that Saif Ali Khan initially wanted his then-girlfriend, Kareena Kapoor, to play the lead opposite him. The actor even spoke to Imtiaz Ali about this. Kareena, who had only then starred in ‘Jab We Met’ as Geet and earned universal acclaim was confident of getting the role since her boyfriend was producing it.
However, Imtiaz had his mind set of casting Deepika Padukone even before she made her Bollywood debut in ‘Om Shanti Om’.
In previous interviews, Deepika revealed that Imtiaz approacjed her for ‘Love Aaj Kal’ during her modelling days. At the time, she refused, stating that she was not interested in acting. Imtiaz had then told her that the role would be waiting for her whenever she decided to start working in films.
After her debut in ‘Om Shanti Om’ alongside Shah Rukh Khan, she decided to star in ‘Love Aaj Kal’. While Imtiaz was most keen on casting Deepika, Kareena expressed her disappointment on losing out on ‘Love Aaj Kal’ during an award function.
Later, when Ali was asked if he was pleased with Kareena’s willingness to work with him, he said, “The thing with flattery is that you don’t recognise it when it happens. It was not a happy feeling when Kareena publicly said what she did. I felt bad because we had cleared the issue and I didn’t realise that she still felt so bad about it.”
Deepika on Kareena wanting to be a part of Love Aaj Kal
In a conversation with Filmfare, Deepika was asked about Kareena’s desire to be a part of the film, the former said, “I don’t know about that. I never had this conversation with Saif, I never brought it up. But I do know for a fact that Imtiaz was always keen on working with me on this particular film. And it happened.”
Deepika, who was dating Kareena’s cousin Ranbir Kapoor at the time, added, “I don’t expect that every film I do has to be with my boyfriend. I think that’s a bit ridiculous. And I know as an actor I will have to work with different kinds of people. A director knows the kind of characters he wants in his film and the kind of actors who can play those characters. So it would be a bit ridiculous to expect that my real-life boyfriend will be my co-star in every film of mine.”
However, Deepika also added that she ‘understood’ where Kareena was coming from, given that her career had taken off again after starring in ‘Jab We Met’.
