Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan once shared a friendly camaraderie, after sharing screen space in films like Josh, Mohabbatein and Devdas. However, the two had a professional fallout when SRK reportedly removed Aishwarya from many of his successful films, including Chalte Chalte (2003) with Rani Mukerji stepping in. While it has been years since the rift and both actors have moved on, certain reports also claimed that the replacement was because Salman Khan created disturbances on the sets of the film, due to their personal issues.

In her appearance on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal years ago, Aishwarya Rai opened up about how she was suddenly ousted from a few of Shah Rukh’s films. “How can I have the answer to that?” she said, adding, “Yes, at the time, there was talk of a couple of films that we would be working in together. And then, suddenly they weren’t happening, without any explanation whatsoever. I have never had the answer to why.”

When the host told Aishwarya that Shah Rukh Khan had once expressed regret in an interview, and had revealed that it was because he became involved in her personal life, which he accepted he shouldn’t have. “I don’t have the answer to that,” she said, emphasising that it wasn’t her decision to not do those movies.

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Aishwarya Rai was the first choice for Chalte Chalte. The film was backed by Shah Rukh and Juhi Chawla’s company, Dreamz Unlimited. They had already started shooting when Rani Mukerji replaced Aishwarya midway. Meanwhile, neither Shah Rukh nor Aishwarya ever confirmed Salman’s involvement in the situation.

“See, at the time, when you have no explanation, you’re obviously completely taken aback, and confused, and hurt. You wonder about it. It’s not in my nature to question someone for this. If a person feels a need to explain it, they will. If they never did, they never intend to. So, it’s not in my nature to get into questioning what and why. Probably within myself, but I wouldn’t go up to a person and ask why. By the grace of God, I’m not defined by the other,” she stated.

Aishwarya also recalled that Shah Rukh didn’t give her time to think about the situation. “I was never put in a position where I was suddenly sitting there, with these films out of my diary, with absolutely nothing happening career wise, where I would be wondering ‘oh, now what, and why?'” she shared.

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Shah Rukh expressed regret over his decision

Later on, during an interaction with in 2003, SRK had expressed regret over replacing Aishwarya in the films, admitting that it was a mistake. When questioned about Chalte Chalte, he expressed, “To start a project with someone and then change her for no fault of hers is very difficult. It is very sad as Ash is a good friend. Personally, I think I did wrong. But as a producer, it made sense. I apologised to Ash.”

In an old interview video that resurfaced on Reddit, Shah Rukh also said, “Personally, it is very saddening not to… for something to reach this level. I feel very sorry about it, and I genuinely do… As a producer, my hands were tied because I am not the only producer. I have a team of people, and this time we also have UTV, who is working with us. The collective decision of 10-11 people. We were also not doing very well as producers. That was at stake.”

Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan last featured together in Karan Johar’s 2016 romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. It starred Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in lead roles.