When Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Opened Up About Getting Replaced By Ameesha Patel In Mangal Pandey ( Photo Credit – Instagram ; Movie Still )
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When Aamir Khan starrer Mangal Pandey was released back in 2005, the film created a lot of excitement among the audience as it was one of the biggest biographical films. Along with the Dangal star, Ameesha Patel who played the character of Jwala was also applauded but did you know, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was replaced by the Gadar actress. Find out what happened.
With a great cast and outstanding story line, the film went on to become one of the highest grossers of the year. Directed by Ketan Mehta, the film marked the comeback of Mr Perfectionist after the 2001 blockbuster Dil Chahta Hai.
Since Aishwarya Rai Bachchan entered Bollywood, she has been one of the top actresses, even when she was offered Aamir Khan starrer Mangal Pandey the actress was a big star, while Ameesha Patel was just two films old. When the news about her being replaced in the massive project went viral fans were left confused. Giving clarity about the rumour the Fanney Khan actress revealed that the situations were different and some disagreement with the producer Bobby Bedi.
In a 2004 interview when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was asked about getting replaced in Mangal Pandey by Ameesha Patel, the actress corrected the journalist and said, “What’s interesting is that you remember the words, like ‘replaced’, which you etched. The fact is, the situation was very different. And time and again, ever since that situation up until today, I have answered, that the producer, in fact, rendered me an apology, for the fact that he went out of line because of speaking the way that he did in the media, because of other pressures that he went through.”
“There was a disagreement between him and my agents, and more than anything else, even up to the point of even pre-mahurat. So that was an entirely different situation. The producer apologised to me…,” the actress added.
Meanwhile, in an interview with The Telegraph in 2003, Mangal Pandey producer Bobby Bedi had said, “We have dropped her (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) from the film because she wanted to renegotiate the deal. She wanted to double her earlier fees after signing the agreement.”
