Salman Khan shot to fame with the release of Tere Naam, which hit theatres on 2003. Viewers praised his pairing with Bhumika Chawla, the songs, as well as the intense love story. But did you know that Salman initially wanted Ameesha Patel as the lead in the film? In an interaction with Bollywood Bubble, Ameesha shared why she could not do the film. (Also read: Salman Khan warned Tere Naam co-star ‘hungama macha dunga’ if she hit him too hard in a scene. Here’s why)
What Ameesha shared
Ameesha admitted that she regrets saying no to Tere Naam. She shared, “Kaash main mana nahi karti. Lekin uss waqt jab Salman offer ki thi sirf gaane ban chuki thi aur ye film ka idea aur kahaani thi. Unhone mujhe narrate kiya, gaane bhi sunaaye. Tab na dates tay thi aur direct kaun karega ye bhi tay nahi tha. It was all up in the air (I wish I had done it. But that time there was no fixed dates for the film when Salman narrated the story. I heard the story and the songs. Even the director was not on board). Salman was very excited about Tere Naam and rightly so. Jab finalise hua, jab Satish Kaushik ji on board aye (he was finalised much later), tab tak I was already busy and committed on another project.”
‘Mujhe kahani bohot pasand aayi thi’
Ameesha shared that the film had gone back and forth through several directors. “Kuch set nahi tha (Nothing was confirmed) and as an actor I could not take away time that I had given to numerous people. Agar Salman had come to me with a set date and a set director and said that we are ready to roll, then of course main Tere Naam jaisi film mana nahi karti (I wouldn’t have said no if there were confirmed dates). Of course, it was such a beautiful film and mujhe kahani bohot pasand aayi thi. Mujhe gaane bohot pasand aaye thhe (I loved the story and the songs). So yeah, it is definitely my loss. But unfortunately, I could not accommodate my dates.”
Tere Naam was directed by the late Satish Kaushik. The film also starred Bhumika Chawla in the lead. It revolves around an obsessive lover Radhe (Salman) who is a good-for-nothing college dropout with street-style behaviour. He falls for a girl, played by Bhumika whom he stalks and kidnaps. The film is a remake of the Tamil film Sethu (1999).