Following the success of the Rajiv Rai directorial Mohra, Raveena never wanted to return to the big screen in a supporting role at that time and she had her own reasons for rejecting certain films.
Raveena Tandon is often called as a “90s diva of Bollywood”.
The 1994 film Mohra marked a watershed moment in Raveena Tandon’s career, cementing her status as a top actress in the 1990s.
The film, which featured the hit songs “Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast” and “Tip Tip Barsa Paani,” transformed her into one of the most sought-after leading ladies of that era.
It was around this phase that filmmaker Karan Johar offered her a role in his debut directorial Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. However, Raveena chose to turn it down as it was a second lead regardless
sharing good camaraderie with Karan Johar.
She revealed amidst her media interaction that she had reasons to reject certain films. For example, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Karan always says that she didn’t do his first film, but she tells him that she would have loved to do it, and but unfortunately, amidst that time in her career, she couldn’t have restarted her career by playing second lead after leaving at a point which was Mohra.”
She further added, “It was very necessary for her to again start of if she has five scenes and five songs, but as a solo heroine. She had to restart her career like that, which was very difficult, but was like you have to do this. It worked for Rani Mukerji because she was young and fresh face, but for her (Raveena) it wasn’t trying to start off from where she left off, that was a really difficult decision for her.
Raveena also revealed that she refused to star in the iconic song “Chaiyya Chaiyya” from Mani Ratnam’s 1998 film Dil Se as she did not want to be branded an ‘item girl’. She said, “Chaiyya Chaiyya came, and she was dying to do it, but didn’t want to be branded ‘item girl’. So she remembers telling Mani Ratnam Ji that she’s dying to do a film with him and want to be in every film of his, but unfortunately can’t do the song.
The song eventually featured Malaika Arora alongside Shah Rukh Khan. Chaiyya Chaiyya turned out to be a massive sensation, turning Malaika into an overnight star and cementing her status as one of Bollywood’s most iconic dancers.
News Edit KV Raman
