Subhash
Ghai's
1997
musical
drama
Pardes
starring
Shah
Rukh
Khan
and
Mahima
Chaudhry
clocked
25
years
on
Monday
(August
8).
To
mark
this
milestone,
the
filmmaker
did
a
special
interview
for
his
acting
school
Whistling
Woods
International
in
which
he
shared
some
interesting
trivia
about
his
film.
The
director
revealed
that
his
first
choice
for
Pardes
was
Madhuri
Dixit.
He
said
that
he
had
initially
narrated
the
film's
story
to
the
'dhak
dhak
girl'
who
had
liked
it
as
well.
Ghai
said,
"I
initially
narrated
the
story
and
the
character
of
Kusum
Ganga
to
Madhuri
Dixit
and
she
liked
it
the
story.
Madhuri
was
already
a
big
star
by
that
time.
People
in
my
office
also
suggested
we
take
her."
However,
he
later
decided
to
go
for
a
new
face,
rather
than
an
established
star.
Explaining
the
reason
behind
the
same,
he
said,
"When
I
elaborated
on
it
(story)
and
wrote
the
complete
characterisation,
-
a
young
and
innocent
village
girl.
A
girl
who
sees
an
airplane
in
the
sky
and
thinks
of
going
to
America,
a
girl
who
wants
to
go
to
the
US
because
her
friends
have
also
been
married
there...someone
who
dreams
of
being
married
and
going
to
America.
But
she
also
is
innocence
of
an
adolescent
girl.
I
realised
I
would
not
get
that
innocence
from
a
star
and
a
newcomer
would
easily
do
it.
Mahima
Chaudhry
did
it."
The
Khalnayak
director
further
said
that
when
he
met
and
interviewed
Mahima,
he
was
impressed
by
her
innocent
laughter
and
loved
how
she
expressed
emotions
with
her
eyes.
Also,
she
was
short-heighted.
The
filmmaker
felt
that
all
these
factors
suits
the
character
of
Kusum
Ganga.
Ghai
admitted
that
the
people
in
his
office
suggested
him
to
get
stars
in
order
to
make
the
project
bigger
and
earn
more
money,
however,
he
stuck
to
his
choice.
In
the
same
interview,
the
filmmaker
shared
that
Shah
Rukh
Khan
was
not
initially
ready
to
ditch
his
jeans
and
flamboyant
shirts,
and
wear
trousers
for
his
character
of
Arjun.
He
also
revealed
that
Salman
Khan
had
expressed
his
desire
to
play
the
role
of
Rajiv
in
the
film.
However,
Ghai
declined
the
idea
as
he
was
keen
to
cast
a
newcomer
who
could
speak
like
an
American
and
look
stylish.
He
felt
that
Apurva
Agnihotri
suited
the
bill
and
cast
him
in
the
film.
Upon
its
release,
Pardes
was
a
commercial
success
at
the
box
office.