Not Preity Zinta, this actress was Karan Johar's first choice for Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan-starrer Kal Ho Naa Ho

Produced by Karan Johar and helmed by Nikkhil Advani in his directorial debut, Kal Ho Naa Ho completes 20 years of its release on Tuesday as the film was released 20 years ago on November 28. Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Saif Ali Khan starred in this heartreaking love triangle that became a cult classic over the years.

But do you know that Preity Zinta wasn't the first choice for this film and Karan Johar had first offered it to Kareena Kapoor Khan? The actress demanded the same fees as Shah Rukh Khan and hence, the filmmaker didn't cast her for the role. This led to personal differences between them and they didn't talk to each other for 18 months until Karan's father Yash Johar was diagnosed of cancer. 

Karan, who had directed Kareena in his second film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, had written about the same in his autobiography An Unsuitable Boy, "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'.  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 idiotic. She was a kid; she’s a decade younger than me", the director said, further adding that when Yash Johar was undergoing his cancer treatment in New York in 2003, Kareena called him and tried to patch up, but it was only after his dad's death in June 2004 that they finally buried the hatchet.

Kal Ho Naa Ho received multiple accolades including two National Film Awards for Best Music Direction to the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, and Best Male Playback Singer to Sonu Nigam for his lovely rendition of the beautiful title track penned by Javed Akhtar. It also won eight Filmfare Awards, the highest in the following year of its release.

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