With Aisha in theaters now – some little known facts seem to be circulating around the media, like, did you know that the male lead was initially offered to Imran Khan? Aisha was appartently offered to Imran while, both, Imran and Sonam were shooting I Hate Luv Storys. It was during the production of this film that the two became friends so it was natural for Sonam to assume that Imran would happily do her home production, but, the adage citing people to never assume is not said without reason. The Kapoor Khaandhan’s assumption was incorrect as Imran declined the offer.
Anil admits Imran was indeed the first choice for the role that eventually went to actor Abhay Deol.
“Rhea and Sonam did send the script over to Imran. I don’t know why he didn’t do it. Maybe he was wary of a script that was named after the heroine. But Abhay is the perfect choice.”
Imran’s polite refusal of the project however made Anil take some immediate steps. “I told them no hero would take a film seriously if it is named after the heroine. I ordered them to call the film ‘Production No. 3’ not Aisha.”
Talking about his own personal experience and career graph Anil elaborated – “I was different I did so many heroine-centric films like Beta with Madhuri Dixit and Lamhe with Sridevi. Even Mr India was more Sri’s picture although it was our home production.”
When asked about his daughters’ management of Aisha the proud papa was very honest – “I did nothing. I gave Sonam and Rhea a free hand. I was there to help them with inputs. But Aisha is completely their baby. Now we’re planning 2-3 new productions. One of them would definitely have Sonam in it.”
Aisha – a film based on Jane Austen’s Emma is a story about a girl with a simple problem – everyone’s business is her business. Be sure and check out the BollySpice review of this summer release.
