Chandrachur Singh, Saif Ali Khan refused to play second lead to Shah Rukh Khan in this film, later…did it, made director…a star

Salman Khan’s portrayal of Aman in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is still regarded as one of the sweetest and most “green flag” characters in Hindi cinema. Despite having a smaller role, his character had a profound impact on the story and won the hearts of audiences.

It was quite unusual at the time for an actor of Salman Khan’s stature to take on such a brief role in a film that already featured big names like Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji. However, Salman agreed to do it, and his performance as the mature, understanding fiancé left a lasting impression on fans.

Filmmaker Karan Johar, who made his directorial debut with the film, once revealed that Salman initially rejected the role. However, after some persuasion, he agreed to take it on and ultimately made the character of Aman unforgettable.

An old interview clip of Karan Johar with Dekho recently came up on Reddit, where he talked about how he convinced Salman Khan to play the role of Aman in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Karan shared that he was visiting Salman Khan’s sister, Alvira Khan, at her house, and Salman was there too. During their chat, Salman casually asked Karan, “Kaun hai tumhare picture mein?” (Who’s in your movie?). This conversation led to Karan convincing Salman to take on the role, even though he had initially turned it down.

Karan Johar shared that when he spoke to Salman Khan about Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, he mentioned that Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol were the main leads, and there was a special appearance role for which he was looking for someone. Karan didn’t think Salman would be interested, so he just casually mentioned it. However, to Karan’s surprise, Salman showed interest and asked, “Kitne din ka kaam hai?” (How many days of work?). Karan replied, “12-15 days of work,” to which Salman said, “Main karunga” (I will do it). Karan was shocked and asked, “You will do it? Really?” Salman confirmed, “Yes, come and narrate it to me.”

When Karan went to narrate the story, Salman liked it, but then asked for a very high fee, which was a significant amount at the time. Karan then mentioned the situation to his father, Yash Johar, who said, “It doesn’t fit into the budget, and though Salman is wonderful, we can’t afford it.”

Karan Johar went on to say, “After that, I offered the role to Saif Ali Khan. Saif listened to the story and said, ‘It’s a wonderful story, but I don’t want to take the risk.’ I was frustrated because I was facing problems casting both the heroine and the hero for the role.”

Karan continued, “That night, I was feeling really upset, so my friends called me and invited me to Chunky Pandey’s party. I went to the party, and Salman was there. He came up to me and asked, ‘Why do you look so low?’ I replied, ‘No, nothing. I’m just not feeling well.’ He then joked, ‘Did you go to everyone? Did you go hero shopping?’ I said, ‘No, no.’ But then I admitted, ‘Yeah, but it’ll happen.’”

He added, "So he said, ‘Look come and meet me again tomorrow’. So I went, so he said, ‘I am doing your film. I like you. I like your father. You pay me what you want. So I said okay. I said, ‘This is what I can do and I’ll give you this much much more if the film does well’. Toh it worked out and he did it. And he was wonderful."

As per reports Chandrachur Singh also rejected the role as he was working for other films during that time.