Gauri Khans mom suggested Mahira Khan for SRKâs Raees
2 min read
Pakistani actress Mahira Khan enjoys quite the popularity in India and her fan following increased after she made her Bollywood debut with none other than Shah Rukh Khan in his film Raees. But did you know that SRK’s mother-in-law was the one who suggested Mahira’s name for the film? The director of the film Rahul Dholakia recently opened up about the casting process of the film and said that it is rare to find a “30-something heroine in India with good Hindi.”
He said, “We wanted an actor to play an 1980s Muslim girl. So, our first priority was to have an actress with good Hindi speaking skills, and if she had a little bit of Urdu twang, even better. We also wanted our heroine to have an innocence. And Shah Rukh was 50, so we wanted a heroine who is at least 30-something.”
He then explained that there are very few actresses in India who are in their 30s with good Hindi and an innocence. He continued, “There was Deepika, Kareena, and Anushka. We had these three or four heroines who met the criteria. But now, the problem with them was that they are too expensive and the role is too small for them. Then we went through a complete list which included Sonam and Katrina. At the end of the day, we realised this wasn’t working for us. They were not really fitting the role. Shah Rukh Khan cannot romance an Alia Bhatt!”
Dholakia then revealed that it was Gauri Khan’s mother who suggested Mahira’s name. Continuing the story, he said, “I think both Gauri Khan’s mother and my mother had seen Mahira in some Pakistani television show. They both said: ‘Yeh ladki achi hai‘. Honey Trehan was casting for us. I called him up and asked if he knew Mahira. He said, ‘She is here in Mumbai for some promotional work.’ He then said, ‘I will bring her tomorrow, you can audition her for the role.’ We then auditioned her at the Excel office. After the audition, I declared, ‘I have found my Aasiya.”
Pakistani actress Mahira Khan made her Bollywood debut with Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees. Continue reading …Read More
