Why Farah Khan rejected Shilpa Shirodkar for Shah Rukh Khan, Malaika Arora song Chaiyya Chaiyya: ‘You are too fat’
Shilpa Shirodkar spoke about getting the offer to star in the song from Dil Se opposite Shah Rukh Khan, in the latest episode of Bigg Boss 18.
The image of Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika Arora dancing on top of a train in the song Chaiyya Chaiyya is forever etched in the minds and hearts of Bollywood fans. However, few know that Malaika was not the original choice for this iconic number. Also read: Shah Rukh Khan reacts to PM Modi’s welcome with Chaiyya Chaiyya at White House: 'Wish I was there to dance'
Not the first choice
It has been revealed that Shilpa Shirodkar was approached for the song first, and was rejected for being fat. Shilpa shared the incident in the latest episode of Bigg Boss 18.
It happened when filmmaker Farah Khan took over the hosting duties for Weekend Ka Vaar from the show’s regular host, Salman Khan. During her stint, she condemned many contestants for their behaviour on the show.
At one point, Shilpa was seen sharing an anecdote involving Farah. Towards the end of the episode, during a conversation with fellow housemates Chum Darang and Karanveer Mehra, Shilpa revealed that Farah approached her for the song Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se, but she was eventually rejected because of her weight.
“She (Farah) approached me for Chaiyya Chaiyya,” Shilpa said, adding that Farah had asked her to lose weight in order to star in the song.
After a week or 10 days, the actor was rejected by Farah. When Karan asked Shilpa if it was because she didn’t lose weight, she revisited her conversation with Farah. “You are too fat for the song,” Farah had told Shilpa.
Shilpa shared that it was after she was rejected that Malaika Arora was cast in the song, opposite Shah Rukh Khan. At this point, Karanveer joked, “Tu chadti toh train rukh jaati kya? (Would the train have stopped if you were on it?)” Shilpa shrugged off the query by saying that only Farah and Dil Se director Mani Ratnam can tell the real reason around why she was rejected.
About the song
Chaiyya Chaiyya was a part of the 1998 Mani Ratnam film Dil Se. In the iconic song, Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika Arora danced on a moving train. Chaiyya Chaiyya was sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi, and was choreographed by Farah Khan. She had won the Filmfare Award for best choreography for the song that year.
Chhaiya Chhaiya was composed by AR Rahman and penned by Gulzar. In a 2020 interview, Malaika had said that Chaiyya Chaiyya should not be recreated and should never be touched as it was ‘iconic’.
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