Raveena Tandon feels Karan Johar has not forgiven her for turning down Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

The original ‘Tip Tip Barsa’ girl of Bollywood, Raveena Tandon, recently opened up about her second innings in films that were more serious in tone and character arcs than when she made her debut as a young actress. Before she kickstarted a new phase as a more serious and defined actress, Raveena Tandon had to refuse Karan Johar’s directorial debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai – a film that literally changed the space of Indian romantic films. The film that featured Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji in pivotal roles was initially offered to Raveena Tandon but she turned it down.

In an interview with news agency ANI, Raveena said, “Karan still doesn’t forgive me for not doing Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. But he didn’t understand at that time, Kajol was my contemporary. We started together, we were both doing lead roles. So, I couldn’t have done a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, where I was at a lower… where I probably had a smaller role like Rani. And Rani benefited from it because she was a newcomer. That was the difference that would’ve happened at that time, and that’s what I told Karan.”

The part that Rani Mukerji played in the film had less screen time than Kajol. So,many leading actresses of the time rejected that role. In a previous interview, Karan Johar revealed that as many as eight leading actresses turned down the offer to star in the film, in either role. “I had asked everyone. Main bhikari ban chuka tha uss film mai. Eight heroines had already rejected me for Rani Mukerjee’s role. Mujhe laga, agar koi na mile toh mujhe khud short-skirt pehen ke woh role karna padega (I thought if I don’t get anyone, I might have to wear a short skirt and play the role). Eventually eight heroines said no to me and nobody besides Aishwarya Rai even called me back after hearing the narration,” said Karan Johar.

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Aishwarya Rai didn’t end up taking that role. Speaking to Filmfare, Aishwarya said, “I’m in a catch-22 situation, really. Though I’m a newcomer, I’m compared with all the senior actresses. If I’d done the film, it would have been tittered that, ‘Look, Aishwarya Rai is back to doing what she did in her modelling days—leaving her hair straight, wearing minis, and pouting glamorously into the camera.’ Ultimately, the hero goes back to the more real person. I know if I’d done Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, I would have been lynched.”