The epic Kal Ho Na Ho, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan in lead roles completed 19 years down the line. Preity Zinta who portrayed the role of very lively Naina in the movie however wasn’t the first choice for the role for Karan Johar but it was Bebo aka Kareena Kapoor Khan. Post Bebo turned it down, it went to Preity Zinta.
In the book, “An Unsuitable Boy”, Karan Johar revealed why Kareena Kapoor turned down role. Read below to know the scoop-
Karan Johar said, “The weekend of Mujhse Dosti Karoge’s release, I offered her Kal Ho Naa Ho, and she asked for the same money that Shah Rukh Khan was getting. I said, ‘Sorry’.”
He added, “I was very hurt. I told my father, ‘Leave that negotiation room’ and I called her. She didn’t take my call, and I said, ‘We’re not taking her.’ And we signed Preity Zinta instead. Kareena and I didn’t speak to each other for almost a year. For a year, we looked through each other at parties. It was very idotic. She was a kid; she’s a decade younger than me.”
He further said, “We were releasing Kal Ho Naa Ho in November. We had shot the film in June, July, August and in September I had to shoot the songs, make the promos and so on. So I had to head back, while my father continued the treatment in New York. That was the time Kareena Kapoor called me. It was August. We had not spoken for nine months. She called and said, I heard about Yash uncle’. She got really emotional on the phone, and she said, ‘I love you and I am so sorry I haven’t been in touch. Don’t worry.” As quoted by Bollywood Bubble.
