Aishwarya Rai is one of the most talented actresses of her generation. Her stunning looks and acting skills have won hearts across the world. But even for someone like her, the film industry hasn’t always been fair. There was a time when Aishwarya was suddenly removed from five big films that were meant to feature her with Shah Rukh Khan. This left her feeling confused and deeply hurt.Replaced without a reasonFor those who don’t know, reportedly Aishwarya and Shah Rukh were supposed to star together in several films, including ‘Chalte Chalte’, ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ and ‘Veer Zaara’. Fans were excited to see the two on screen again. But without any reason, Aishwarya was replaced in all of them. It shocked many people in the industry and left Aishwarya wondering what had gone wrong.A painful chat with Simi GarewalThe ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ actress once spoke about this difficult time on ‘Rendezvous with Simi Garewal’. Simi brought up how Aish had been working on five films with Shah Rukh when she was suddenly dropped. In fact, ‘Veer-Zaara’ was written with Aishwarya in mind.Talking about this, the ‘Dhoom 2’ actress said, “There were a couple of films that were supposed to happen with me. But suddenly they weren’t happening, without any reason whatsoever. I have never had the answer to why.”‘Of course hurt’When asked if it was her decision to step away from these projects, the ‘Guru’ actress made it clear it was not. She said, “No, it wasn’t my decision. You obviously are taken aback, confused, and of course hurt. You wonder about it.”Seeing how the industry worksAishwarya also spoke about how this experience opened her eyes to the way the film industry can work. She said, “You become more aware of what you’ve heard about, like in terms of…situations, people having a domino effect on another people or other projects.”Even though she was already a big star with many box office hits, she realised that no one is truly safe in this business. As she put it, “It became obvious that it can happen to me too…with all your apparent box office success or ‘secure positioning’ in the industry.”Moving on with graceDespite being hurt and confused, Aishwarya did not let this stop her. She carried on with her work and continued to shine in many successful and much-loved films, both in India and around the world.
