Ameesha Patel regrets saying no to Tere Naam with Salman Khan: ‘Mujhe kahani bohot pasand aayi thi’

Tere Naam, starring Salman Khan as an obsessive lover, was a massive hit when it released in 2003. Bhumika Chawla played the female lead in it.

Salman Khan shot to fame with the release of Tere Naam, which hit theatres on 2003. Viewers praised his pairing with Bhumika Chawla, the songs, as well as the intense love story. But did you know that Salman initially wanted Ameesha Patel as the lead in the film? In an interaction with Bollywood Bubble, Ameesha shared why she could not do the film. (Also read: Salman Khan warned Tere Naam co-star ‘hungama macha dunga’ if she hit him too hard in a scene. Here's why)

What Ameesha shared

Ameesha Patel shared that she loved the story of Tere Naam.

Ameesha admitted that she regrets saying no to Tere Naam. She shared, “Kaash main mana nahi karti. Lekin uss waqt jab Salman offer ki thi sirf gaane ban chuki thi aur ye film ka idea aur kahaani thi. Unhone mujhe narrate kiya, gaane bhi sunaaye. Tab na dates tay thi aur direct kaun karega ye bhi tay nahi tha. It was all up in the air (I wish I had done it. But that time there was no fixed dates for the film when Salman narrated the story. I heard the story and the songs. Even the director was not on board). Salman was very excited about Tere Naam and rightly so. Jab finalise hua, jab Satish Kaushik ji on board aye (he was finalised much later), tab tak I was already busy and committed on another project.”

Bhumika Chawla worked with Salman Khan in Tere Naam.

‘Mujhe kahani bohot pasand aayi thi’

Tere Naam was directed by the late Satish Kaushik. The film also starred Bhumika Chawla in the lead. It revolves around an obsessive lover Radhe (Salman) who is a good-for-nothing college dropout with street-style behaviour. He falls for a girl, played by Bhumika whom he stalks and kidnaps. The film is a remake of the Tamil film Sethu (1999).