Aishwarya Rai reveals why she had to reject the offer of Farah Khan’s Happy New Year, which eventually starred Deepika Padukone alongside Shah Rukh Khan.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on rejecting Happy New year

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on rejecting Happy New year.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan isn’t new to saying no to scripts that have gone on to become massively popular, and minted money at the box office. We have all heard stories about her giving Troy, Munnabhai MBBS, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, and Krrish a miss. Among all these films, Aishwarya Rai also said no to the hugely entertaining Farah Khan film Happy New Year. With many reports saying a lot of things about her reasons behind missing out on the film, which starred Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya clarified her stance in an interview NDTV back in the day.

“Yeah, I was offered the film, and it did seem like quite a fun trip,” said the Ponniyin Selvan star.

Delving deeper into her reasoning behind rejecting Happy New Year, Aishwarya said, “I knew we would have a blast doing it, and it was going to be a fun experience. But it wouldn’t have worked out with both me and Abhishek in the film, and not being paired with each other.” In the fun heist film, the only female protagonist, played by Deepika, was paired opposite Shah Rukh Khan, and Abhishek’s terrific comic turn didn’t really have a pair. “We wouldn’t be cast opposite each other. It will be really really weird, right? That’s why I had to decline it,” clarified Aishwarya.

The actor, who was last seen in the Ponniyin Selvan films, directed by her mentor director Mani Ratnam, is known to be very selective with her work, especially in the recent years. In fact, before the release of the Ponniyin Selvan films in 2022 and 2023, which featured her in the strong role of Nandini, Aishwarya had last appeared onscreen in 2018’s Fanney Khan.

Ponniyin Selvan was again in the news for winning multiple awards in the recently announced National Awards, and it was a temporary respite for the actor, who is currently in the midst of relentless speculation about her marriage with Abhishek Bachchan. With separation rumours surrounding the both of them on social media, and off screen, both have maintained a dignified silence, and not fed fuel to these talks. The actors, who have starred in films like Guru and Raavan, tied the knot in 2007, and have a 12-year-old daughter Aaradhya Bachchan.