Aziz Mirza recalls replacing Aishwarya Rai with Rani Mukerji in Shah Rukh Khan’s Chalte Chalte: ‘Things didn’t pan out the way we hoped’

Director Aziz Mirza recently reflected on a major casting change in his 2003 romantic drama Chalte Chalte, which originally began filming with Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead. However, Aishwarya was later replaced by Rani Mukerji, and in a new interview, the filmmaker addressed the long-standing speculation around the decision.
Speaking to Radio Nasha, Mirza was asked what went wrong with Aishwarya. Choosing his words carefully, he replied, “I don’t know. Anyway, these are the areas we unfortunately…” trailing off without revealing much. He confirmed that they had shot only the song “Prem Nagariya” with her, adding that it was a one-day shoot. “Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out the way we had hoped, and then Rani came on board,” he shared.
While the exact reasons remain unstated by the director, it is widely believed that the replacement was linked to Aishwarya’s then-relationship with Salman Khan, who allegedly disrupted the shoot, prompting the filmmakers to rethink their casting.

Chalte Chalte also marked the first time Mirza didn’t cast Juhi Chawla opposite Shah Rukh Khan, a staple pairing in his previous three films. On why he made that change, he said it was simply a desire to show audiences something new. “I just thought people might want to see someone different,” he explained. He added that Juhi would have done a great job too, but was quick to praise Rani, saying she was “as good as ever.”

A clip of Shah Rukh Khan had previously resurfaced, in which the superstar expressed regret over Aishwarya’s exit. He acknowledged that the choice wasn’t personal but a professional one made collectively by the film’s producers. “As a producer, my hands were tied… the whole company’s reputation was at stake,” he said. He further described Aishwarya as “very professional” and admitted that “even professionally we feel very bad… there’s no two ways about it.”