Here’s why Subhash Ghai decided to cast Aishwarya Rai in ‘Taal’

There’s no denying the fact that the Subhash Ghai-directed Taal was one of the biggest hits of 1999 and propelled Aishwarya Rai to new heights. The actress, who was a newcomer back then, received rave reviews for her work and this proved that she belonged to the big league. Interestingly, some people were not too convinced with the filmmaker’s decision to cast the future ‘Bachchan Bahu’ in the musical. In an old interview, that is going viral, Ghai had said that he selected ‘Aish’ for Taal as she had the natural beauty needed to play Mansi on the big screen.

The Karz director had added that he does not believe in selecting an actor for a movie based on his or her standing in the industry while making it clear that he is not interested in industry gossip.

Taal, considered to a cult film, revolved around what happens when an innocent woman makes it big in the entertainment industry. The cast included Akshaye Khanna and Anil Kapoor. It featured quite a few popular songs, composed by AR Rahman that became a rage.

Coming to the present, Ghai is going through a dull phase on the work front. He is working on the sequel to the yesteryear hit Khal Nayak. The film will, reportedly feature a young antagonist and be bigger than the first part.

On the other hand, Aishwarya was last seen in Fanney Khan that failed to live up to expectations. The film, featuring her in a new avatar, did not click with a section of the audience and this proved to be its downfall. The cast included Anil Kapoor and Rajkumar Rao.

She will next be seen in the eagerly-awaited Kollywood biggie Ponniyin Selvan that reunites her with ‘Guru’ Mani Ratnam. The magnum opus has a strong cast, which includes Vikram, Trisha and Karthi.

Credit: Lehren Retro