Did you know Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was removed from Veer Zaara, Chalte Chalte? Shah Rukh Khan had to apologise

Did you know Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were slated to star in the 2003 romantic drama Chalte Chalte? She had, in fact, shot some portion of the movie before she was changed overnight 'without any explanation'. Aishwarya Rai acknowledged that she was pulled from up to five movies, including Veer Zaara, without any explanation whatsoever during an interview on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal.

Aishwarya had told Simi, “Yes, at the time, there was talk of a couple of films that we (her and SRK) would be working in together. And then, suddenly they weren’t happening, without any explanation whatsoever. I have never had the answer to why.” Notably, SRK contributed as one of the film's producers as well.

Shah Rukh had expressed regret about replacing her in an interview, Simi had informed Aishwarya. Aishwarya remarked, "I don't have the answer to that". It wasn't my decision to not do those projects, she added.

As Shah Rukh Khan addressed the allegations in an interview, he revealed that he had apologised to Aishwarya when she was unable to be a part in Chalte Chalte. He had said, "I’m personally very saddened at the fact that Aishwarya was a very close friend and I have done some really marvelous films with her and we get along really well. Personally, it’s very saddening for something to reach at this level. I feel very sorry about it. As a producer, my hands are tied because I’m not the only producer… We wanted to finish the film in 3-4 months. I’m sure the film would have been made with her in it also, but I think we were a little saddened by the whole affair and we thought it wasn’t meant to be."

When Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was questioned over the same, she responded that she was hurt and lacked an answer. To Simi Garewal, she said: "See, at the time, when you have no explanation, you’re obviously completely taken aback, and confused, and hurt. You wonder about it. 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."

Aishwarya Rai was recently seen in director Mani Ratnam's magnum opus period action drama film 'Ponniyin Selvan -1' and she received overwhelmingly positive reviews from moviegoers. Aishwarya was joined in the key parts of the movie by Trisha Krishnan, Karthik Sivakumar, and Jayam Ravi. Aish's next appearance will be in the South Indian movie "Jailer," which also stars Rajinikanth, Ramya Krishnan, Priyanka Arul Mohan, and Shiva Rajkumar. The movie has yet to have its official release date announced.