Like most of his films, Sanjay Leela Bhansali apparently had Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai in mind when he scripted his upcoming magnum opus Padmavati. In a case similar to Bajirao Mastani, the director couldn’t go through this idea because the actors parted ways. According to Rajeev Masand‘s column in Open Magazine, before Padmavati had Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor starring in it, Sanjay reached out to Salman and Aishwarya for the film even after their break-up.
If you think the actors said no right away, here’s the big twist. As per the article, Aishwarya reportedly said she would be ready to work with her former boyfriend Salman only if he played Alauddin Khilji, the antagonist of the film. This way, both of them would have no scenes together.
It was Salman Khan who apparently refused this condition. A source revealed that while the superstar was happy to make the film, it had to be a love story. Salman was keen to recreate the magic of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, he wasn’t too pleased with doing a movie where he wouldn’t be working with Aishwarya.
Sanjay is now making the movie with Deepika as Padmavati and her real life boyfriend Ranveer playing Alauddin Khilji. Shahid will be playing Deepika’s husband Raja Rawal Ratan Singh.
Do you like the current casting or would you rather watch Salman and Aishwarya reunite? Tell us in the comments below.