Salman Khan was offered role as Aishwarya Rai’s brother in ‘Josh’; Shah Rukh Khan walked out over Aamir Khan’s casting: Ratan Jain on casting |

Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan both started acting around the same time in the early 1990s. Even though they became big stars, they never acted in the same movie together. Producer Ratan Jain recently said that the movie ‘Josh’ was meant to have both of them. But in the end, Shah Rukh and Chandrachur Singh played the roles that were first meant for SRK and Aamir. The film also had Aishwarya Rai, and Salman Khan was once offered a role as her brother Max.Producer’s preference and family connectionsIn a conversation with TV9 Bharatvarsh, Ratan revealed that he was keen on casting Shah Rukh as Max, but Mansoor preferred Aamir for the role. Jain explained, “We had decided that Aamir would do the role that was done by Chandrachur and Shah Rukh would do Max. Mansoor had shared with me that Aamir wants to play Max. I said, ‘Absolutely not, only Shah Rukh will do that, or I won’t do the film.” It’s notable that Aamir and Mansoor are cousins, and Aamir made his film debut in Mansoor’s ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’.Joint narration and Shah Rukh Khan’s exitRatan shared that Shah Rukh, having heard rumors that Aamir Khan was interested in the same role, arranged a joint narration. On the day when the director, producer, Shah Rukh, and Aamir all arrived at the venue, Mansoor disclosed Aamir’s wish just before the narration started. “Before the narration, Mansoor said Aamir wants to play Max. Shah Rukh put on his shoes and left. He said, ‘I am not doing the film then’,” he recalled.Role offerings and film’s delayAfter Shah Rukh stepped away from the project, Mansoor was keen on casting Aamir, but Ratan insisted that the character should be played by Shah Rukh. With both stars unavailable, the film was put on hold. Later, the role was offered to Salman Khan, who was interested in it. “Salman agreed. We approached Akshaye Khanna, Saif Ali Khan, Chandrachur Singh but the director wanted Chandrachur,” Ratan said.Salman Khan’s other film commitment and Shah Rukh Khan’s decisionRatan remembered that during this period, Salman was approached for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’. While Salman had agreed to do ‘Josh’, Ratan believed he was more interested in Bhansali’s project. “I went back to Shah Rukh. I told him this has happened and Salman doesn’t sound like he wants to do it,” he said. Shah Rukh asked for some time to think, and Ratan told him, “Ab karni padegi, meri izzat ka swal hai (Now you will have to do it, it’s about my honour now).” The next day, Shah Rukh called and confirmed, “I am doing it,” he added.Aishwarya Rai’s casting and onscreen pairingsWhen questioned about Aishwarya’s selection, Ratan mentioned that she was already signed on for the film during the finalization of the Max character. After playing siblings opposite Shah Rukh in ‘Josh’, the two later portrayed lovers in ‘Mohabbatein’. Aishwarya also appeared in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, where her rumored romance with Salman began but ended a few years later.