Overview
- Ameesha Patel says Aamir Khan noticed her during a BBC interview and their easy rapport in a joint chat in Delhi helped open the door to Mangal Pandey: The Rising.
- She recalls being selected for Lagaan before director Ashutosh Gowariker released her because he felt she looked too educated and too fair-skinned for a village role.
- Patel notes that the traits cited in Lagaan later fit her Gadar: Ek Prem Katha character, and she reflects that she might have appeared in both films, which opened on the same day.
- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was first offered the Mangal Pandey role, with producer Bobby Bedi quoted in 2003 saying she sought to renegotiate her fee after signing the agreement.
- Rai said in a 2004 interview that the producer later apologised and that her exit involved a dispute with her agents, while Patel’s new remarks add personal detail without new documents.