Kareena Kapoor, Not Preity Zinta, Was First Choice Female Lead For Kal Ho Naa Ho

Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta starrer Kal Ho Naa Ho was one of the highest-grossing Indian films in 2003. The movie, written by Karan Johar and directed by Nikhil Advani, was a huge box-office success and received an immensely positive response. The characters — Naina played by Preity, Aman Mathur by Shah Rukh and Rohit Patel by Saif — are still remembered and have a special place in the hearts of movie lovers. But do you know who was the initial choice for the role of Naina? Let’s take a look.

Everyone knows about Karan Johar’s friendship stories in Bollywood and that he shares a special bond with Shah Rukh, Kajol and Kareena Kapoor. But when Karan was set to produce Kal Ho Naa Ho, he argued with Kareena and the two did not speak to each other for almost a year. According to reports, Kareena first met Karan at a party. Karan was so impressed with 18-year-old Kareena’s confidence that he selected her for the iconic role of Poo in the superhit film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. After this movie, Kareena’s popularity increased a lot. However, when Karan decided to produce Kal Ho Na Ho, Nikhil Advani was roped in as the director, and Kareena was his first choice. But the actress rejected the offer.

According to sources, when Karan offered Bebo the role of Naina, she said, “I have recently worked in the film Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, which was produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Kunal Kohli making his directorial debut and the film didn’t do well. Now Nikhil is directing your film, I don’t trust him.” Not only this, but Kareena had also put a demand for a huge fee in front of Karan.

In the book An Unsuitable Boy written by Karan Johar, he talked about Kal Ho Na Ho where he stated that Kareena asked for a huge fee, saying, “I want what Shah Rukh Khan is getting. But I denied it because that time we were not doing well. In the meantime, I called Kareena, but she didn’t answer. We didn’t talk to each other for nearly one year. Even at parties, we used to ignore each other.” However, later Kareena called Karan when his father Yash Johar was sick and getting treatment for cancer in New York, following which they started talking again.

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