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Pooja Bhatt recalls how rejecting Aashiqui for her then-boyfriend left Mahesh Bhatt fuming: ‘Beti pagal ho gayi hai’
Pooja Bhatt admitted rejecting the iconic film because she wanted to be a good girlfriend. But the relationship ended later and she finally starred alongside Aamir Khan in Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin.
In the world of Bollywood, where everyone’s waiting for that one golden opportunity, turning down a career-defining role is looked down upon. But at just 17 years old, after her debut film Daddy (1989), Pooja Bhatt did exactly that. She walked away from the 1990 mega-hit film Aashiqui because of her decision to play the "sacrificial lamb" for her then-boyfriend. Read on!
Pooja Bhatt recalls father Mahesh Bhatt’s reaction when she said no to Aashiqui
Following her film debut at 17, Pooja Bhatt was the biggest young prospect in the industry. Her uncle, producer Mukesh Bhatt, drove to her house ready to lock her in for their next massive venture, Aashiqui.
Recalling the incident on Cyrus Broacha’s podcast, Pooja shared, "The only time in my life my uncle Mukesh Bhatt came to my house with crisp bundles of cash. He said, 'This is your signing amount.' I said, 'I have decided I don't want to act anymore'."
At that time, Pooja was in a relationship with her childhood sweetheart who didn’t like having a girlfriend who would be an actor. Even though he never explicitly told her not to act, Pooja wanted to be the “good girlfriend.” Hence, she decided to walk away from showbiz.
“I was trying to be the good girlfriend and the sacrificial lamb, and I said I am not going to do movies anymore,” she added.
Stunned by the rejection, Mukesh Bhatt immediately phoned his brother and Pooja’s father, director Mahesh Bhatt, exclaiming, “Beti pagal ho gayi hai, na bol rahi hai film ko (Your daughter has gone crazy; she is saying no to the film).”
When Pooja finally spoke to her father, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Instead of shouting, Mahesh Bhatt gave her the silent treatment. She exclaimed, “You could just hear his heavy breathing on the phone. He was furious. He told me, 'You are making the biggest mistake of your life.'"
Mahesh Bhatt was so angered by his daughter prioritizing a teenage romance over her profession that he completely stopped talking to her for nearly two weeks.
The role eventually went to newcomer Anu Aggarwal, and Aashiqui went on to become an overnight phenomenon, breaking box office records and being one of the greatest music albums in Indian cinema history.
The regret hit Pooja when she later visited the film's set. Seeing the magic, reality crashed down on her. The relationship she sacrificed the movie for eventually ended and Pooja made peace with her father and officially returned to the silver screen with the iconic Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin (1991) alongside Aamir Khan.
