Why Aishwarya Rai Turned Down This 1999 Movie Opposite Rajinikanth?

After winning the Miss World crown in 1994, Aishwarya Rai turned her attention towards the film industry. She started out with an impressive role in Iruvar, opposite Mohanlal, and did several acclaimed films in South cinema throughout her career. One of her biggest Kollywood hits has been Enthiran (2010), co-starring Rajiniknath.

However, not many know that director Shankar's Enthiran was not first movie the Bollywood star was offered opposite Rajinikanth. The Tamil superstar revealed that Aishwarya was first offered the cult classic Padayappa. However, she turned down the movie as she was "not interested". The part then went to Ramya Krishnan, who aced it. The antagonist role of Neelambari played by Ramya turned out to be a standout role in her filmography. Her portrayal of a jealous woman evoked strong reactions.

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Padayappa is all set to re-release in cinema halls on December 12, which also marks Rajinikanth's 75th birthday. It was one of the highest Tamil grossers of the time and remains one of Rajini's most loved movies.

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In a special video, Rajinikanth relived his experience of working on this film. “It is close to my heart. I love Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan - and wanted to do a subject revolving around the Nandini character...and the result was Padayappa. I suggested the title, but its director KS Ravikumar was not convinced... but I urged him to go ahead,” he said.  

Rajinikanth added, “We wanted Aishwarya Rai to do the main female character of Neelambari. It was imperative for that role to click - but she was not interested. We wanted an arrogance in the character - and it was Ravikumar who suggested Ramya Krishnan’s name.”