Did You Know? Not Deepika Padukone But Ankita Lokhande Was The FIRST Choice For Shah Rukh Khan’s Happy New Year!

Fans were elated when Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone united in 2014. It was for ‘Happy New Year’ directed by Farah Khan. The film, however, received mixed responses and was a plus affair at the box office. The stellar cast included Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Jackie Shroff amongst others. But did you know Ankita Lokhande was the first choice as the lead actress? She was allegedly a victim of prejudice.

Ankita back then was a part of Pavitra Rishta. She along with Sushant Singh Rajput were the IT couple of Telly town. Not only were they loved as a couple, but their individual acting chops were also appreciated. The fame was such that ace filmmaker and choreographer had Lokhande under her radar. In fact, Farah wanted to rope the actress opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

However, things turned upside down and this remained just a dream for Ankita Lokhande. Gossip mill has it that Farah Khan learnt about the Manikarnika actress’ ill behaviour. She was rumoured to be short-tempered and had huge demands. Owing to the alleged rude behaviour, she ended up dropping the idea. Later, Deepika Padukone was signed opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Happy New Year.