'Shah Rukh Khan Was Perfect For Pardes', Says Subhash Ghai Revealing Why He Cast Mahima Chaudhry

Subhash Ghai's superhit film Pardes featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Mahima Chaudhry completed 25 years in August this year. The film upon its release in 1997 was a huge success and is still remembered for some of its popular songs like 'Meri Mehbooba' and 'Yeh Dil'.

Subhash Ghai who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the recently held Filmfare Awards, recalled the hurdles he faced while casting for this musical drama. Pardes marked Mahima Chaudhry's debut as a leading lady in Bollywood.

While speaking with ETimes, the filmmaker said that he had developed Arjun's character keeping Shah Rukh Khan in his mind and believed that the superstar was perfect for the role.

Subhash told the tabloid, "The greatest hurdle in making the film was the casting. We had a lot of discussions about whether we should cast a known name who had that star value, or find someone who suits the part to the T. I had Shah Rukh Khan in mind for Arjun's character. I had developed it keeping him in mind, and I insisted on casting him. He was just setting foot in the industry at that time, and I got him on board immediately. He was perfect for the role."

Speaking about casting a newcomer like Mahima Chaudhry instead of an established heroine opposite SRK, Ghai continued, "My script did not allow me to cast a star for Kusum Ganga's and Rajiv's characters (eventually played by Mahima and Apoorva Agnihotri). I only wanted to cast actors who could fit the bill. The distributors wanted me to cast bigger names and create a bigger project because our previous film Trimurti had not worked at the box office. I declined. I said, 'I am making a film, not a project. I want to be sincere with what I want to say.' Finally, when they saw Pardes, they were convinced. The rest is history! The film celebrated a golden jubilee run all over India, and Mahima won awards. I got some awards for the screenplay, too."

The filmmaker further revealed that he wouldn't remake his own films and would rather prefer to create a fresh story in his style.

Pardes revolves around a US. immigrant, emotionally attached to his homeland, who sends his son back to India to seek a bride. Subhash Ghai's last directorial venture was Kartik Aaryan-Mishti starrer Kaanchi: The Unbreakable in 2014.