15 Years of Love Aaj Kal: Saif Ali Khan reveals that Kareena Kapoor Khan was keen to play Meera: “Her boyfriend being the producer, she was finding it hard to understand why we cast Deepika Padukone”

The Saif Ali Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer Love Aaj Kal (2009) completed 15 years on July 31. It was Imtiaz Ali’s next film after the much-loved classic love story Jab We Met (2007). Hence, the expectations were tremendous. The film’s trailer and music had also worked big time. As a result, it had a huge opening of Rs. 8.02 crores. In fact, it was the second biggest opener of the year after 3 Idiots and beat films like Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Kambakkht Ishq, Wanted etc.

In Jab We Met, Kareena Kapoor Khan’s performance emerged as one of the greatest of Indian cinema. As a result, it was surprising that Imtiaz didn’t repeat her in Love Aaj Kal. Saif did speak about this aspect in one of the interviews, which was recently published by Hindustan Times.

Saif Ali Khan candidly admitted, “I think she was quite keen to work with Imtiaz Ali again and I think he promised her his next movie. Her boyfriend being the producer of Imtiaz’s next movie and being in the situation that she was, she was wondering and finding it hard to understand why we had cast Deepika, I think.”

Imtiaz Ali confessed that he had promised her the role even before Deepika Padukone debuted with Om Shanti Om (2007), which incidentally released just two weeks after Jab We Met. Imtiaz stated, “Casting Deepika was a risk. It was a challenge to myself as Deepika was a newcomer.” He also, at the same time, said that he was sure about his casting choice.

Besides Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, Love Aaj Kalstarred Brazilian model Giselli Monteiro in her debut role. The makers at that time had shown her in the promos but didn’t reveal her name. Hence, no one knew about her identity until her name was mentioned in the opening credits. The casting was unconventional as Giselli was given the role of Harleen Kaur, a hard-core Punjabi. She, however, slipped into the character effortlessly.

On her casting, Imtiaz Ali said, “Giselle came to me through dress designer Anaita Shroff. She was to play Jo, Saif’s Caucasian girlfriend in the second half. She wasn’t right for Jo. But my wife (Preety Ali), who was there, suggested Giselle for Harleen.”

Love Aaj Kal is set in 2009 when Jai (Saif Ali Khan) and Meera (Deepika Padukone) get into a relationship but then decide to break up. They go their separate ways and even find new partners. Soon they realize that they are made for each other. Jai, meanwhile, is friends with Veer (Rishi Kapoor) who has different ideas about romance. He narrates the story of how he won Harleen in the 1960s. Interestingly, Saif also plays the younger Veer. The older Harleen, meanwhile, was played by Rishi's wife Neetu Kapoor. It marked Neetu’s comeback to films after 26 years.

Imtiaz Ali revealed, “I fell on my knees and told her I am a huge fan. After a lot of persuasion, I finally convinced her to act in my film.”

Also Read: Sara Ali Khan admits that there were moments in her Love Aaj Kal performance that were dishonest; confesses that she asked Aanand L Rai ‘Are you sure you don’t want to call Alia Bhatt to do my role in Atrangi Re?’

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