25 years of Pardes: Subhash Ghai reveals he offered film to Madhuri Dixit first

The film features a diverse set of characters with different beliefs and lifestyles, a trademark of Ghai’s work, whose priority in making a film is characterisation. According to him, “Actors tell our stories. Writing a good story is difficult. Writing a screenplay is even more difficult. And what’s the most difficult is giving colour to these characters.”

Therefore, given the complex storyline of Pardes, casting was a crucial decision to breathe life into the characters. Ghai shared, “The most important thing in casting is creating characters first, then checking which stars fit into the role of which character. I have never written a character keeping a specific star in mind. This has always been a rule I stand by.”

This rule stands firm even when Ghai selects between casting already-established stars or new faces. The filmmaker revealed that Madhuri Dixit was the first choice for the role of Kusum Ganga, then played by Mahima Chaudhry. “I initially narrated the story and the character of Kusum Ganga to Madhuri Dixit, and she liked the story. Madhuri was already a big star by that time,” Ghai said.

He added, “But when I wrote the complete characterisation – a young and innocent village girl. A girl who sees an aeroplane in the sky and thinks of going to America. A girl who wishes to go to America because her friends have also been married there. But she also has the innocence of an adolescent girl – I realised I would not get that innocence from a star, and a newcomer would easily do it. Mahima Chaudhry did it.”

While Ghai was asked by his teams to cast a well-known face in the project for it to become bigger and earn more money, he had to stay true to his characterisation and stick by his choice. “When I met Mahima and interviewed her, I loved how she’d laugh loudly. She would express emotions with her beautiful eyes. Also, she was short. All these three factors suited Kusum,” Ghai lightly recalled.

However, Ghai is just as firm when casting his more celebrated stars. When casting Shah Rukh Khan as Arjun Saagar, Ghai wanted to make sure the Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge star knew what he was getting into. “The first time I narrated the story to him, I told him he is not playing Shah Rukh Khan in this film. His hit film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge had just been released, strongly establishing his image as the romantic hero. In Pardes, he does not fall in love with the girl at first glance, but only falls in love with her later out of empathy,” Ghai explained.

He even had Khan’s wardrobes shifted from the bright shirts and jeans his previous characters always wore, opting instead for trousers and suspenders to give his character the look of a mature man. “I told him that even the choice of clothes will be different. Shah Rukh had an issue with leaving his jeans behind. But my idea in doing so was to convey that his character is quite mature and not that modern. He eventually liked the idea and went for it,” the director recalled.

Ghai also disclosed how Salman Khan almost became a part of the cast for Pardes. “Salman expressed his desire to work with me. My team found out about it and told me how star-studded the film would become with a cast of Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, and Salman Khan. They also said Pardes could become the next hit after Hum Aapke Hain Koun. I rejected this idea for the character of Rajiv as well since I was seeking out a newcomer, someone who is stylish and speaks like an American. Apurva Agnihotri was perfect for the role,” Ghai narrated.

Casting these actors was a challenging feat for the renowned filmmaker. “I fought with my management. I told them that we would still make the film with these actors even if the film earned half the amount we anticipated. I believe that if we take the correct actors as per the character, the film will work and emerge as a hit,” Ghai stated. The Taal director’s intuition stood true as Pardes became not only the 4th highest-grossing film of 1997 but also a timeless classic.