20 years of Aitraaz: Subhash Ghai recalls how the film brought Priyanka Chopra an offer for Krrish

It rarely happens that the antagonist of a film becomes the real hero for the audience after its release, especially 20 years ago. But that’s how it was Aitraaz as an actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas He started his own era with his movie. Priyanka, who played the gold digger in the film and collaborated with Sonia Roy, became the prominent name of the film, which touches on a concept such as sexual harassment at work, which has rarely been touched upon in Indian cinema before. Aspect Akshay KumarPriyanka and Kareena Kapoor Khan We celebrate with the leading actors of the decade, producer Subhash Ghai and lyricist Sameer Anjaan, with unknown facts about the film.

sexual theme

While Aitraaz was talked about a lot due to the sexual theme in it, Subhash Ghai looked at the film from a different lens. He says: “It had to say something about an ambitious girl and a devoted wife. It was the story of two women played by Kareena and Priyanka. Even Akshay said yes to the film instantly and wanted to do this film even though the film was about these two women.” But was he conscious that the description was becoming crude? “Every few years society changes, values ​​change and thinking changes. And as a filmmaker, I think there’s no rude way to go, even if you’re depicting a bold subject,” he says.

The rise of Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka, who played femme fatale Sonia, became the most talked about part of the film after its release. It received unanimous praise from all over. However, interestingly enough, the actor initially did not want to take on this role. “It took a lot of convincing for Priyanka to take up this role. He was initially hesitant about taking on the stereotypical image of being a vampire. But when he came on stage, he won all the awards. Negative characters give players the chance to discover their full potential. His first two films were not very successful but this one brought him into the limelight. Such bold and aggressive characters leave a lasting impression,” shares Subhash.

But he thanks his stars for choosing to say yes to the film. In a post on Instagram to mark the film’s 16th anniversary, the actor said: “This was by far the bravest role I have ever undertaken, and since I was very new to the film industry at the time, it was a big risk. I must admit I was terrified but the artist in me was crying for the chance to do something interesting and that’s exactly what Sonia was… evil, predatory, complicated and mostly self-serving but also surprisingly vulnerable and emotional… Looking back Aitraaz It was a game changer for me. “He taught me to play my characters with conviction, not judgment.”

How did Aitraaz bring the Krrish offer to Priyanka?

The producer also revealed that it was Aitraaz who approached Priyanka for Krrish (2006). “Priyanka had doubts whether she would take up heroine roles after this film. Before the film was released, (filmmaker) Rakesh Roshan and (actor) Hrithik Roshan told me that they were looking for female leads in their Krrish film. When the shooting of the film was still halfway through, I told Rakesh to watch the rough print of Aitraaz. I showed six to seven reels of Priyanka’s performance to Rakesh and Hrithik and they immediately cast her for Krrish the next day. “He even sent me a bouquet of flowers to thank me,” she explains.

(Y)music for the ears

Aitraaz’s album marked the reunion of composer Himesh Reshammiya and lyricist Sameer Anjjan. One of the album’s highlights was the song I Want to Make Love with You, one of the few Bollywood songs about sex. Talking about the process behind it, Sameer says, “Himesh has always tried to follow the trend of the times. While making this movie, we understood the theme of the movie and felt like let’s create a seductive number in a very different way. Abbas-Mustan also gave us complete freedom to explore and my history with them was very good. Himesh and I presented the song in a way that has passion, seduction and poetry as well.”

The songwriter revealed that producer Subhash Ghai asked him and Himesh to present the entire album to him in one sitting. “These give you great excitement to write something different and exciting. At that time, everyone was talking about that song. “In fact, it was shot very well,” he says, adding that the reason why the song still stands the test of time is due to their beliefs: “The problem is that there is no conviction today. No producer is serious about sitting on the music and working hard on it.”