Pakistani actress Mahira Khan enjoys quite the popularity in India and her fan following increased after she made her Bollywood debut with none other than Shah Rukh Khan in his film Raees. But did you know that SRK’s mother-in-law was the one who suggested Mahira’s name for the film? The director of the film Rahul Dholakia recently opened up about the casting process of the film and said that it is rare to find a “30-something heroine in India with good Hindi.”
He then explained that there are very few actresses in India who are in their 30s with good Hindi and an innocence. He continued, “There was Deepika, Kareena, and Anushka. We had these three or four heroines who met the criteria. But now, the problem with them was that they are too expensive and the role is too small for them. Then we went through a complete list which included Sonam and Katrina. At the end of the day, we realised this wasn’t working for us. They were not really fitting the role. Shah Rukh Khan cannot romance an Alia Bhatt!”
Dholakia then revealed that it was Gauri Khan’s mother who suggested Mahira’s name. Continuing the story, he said, “I think both Gauri Khan’s mother and my mother had seen Mahira in some Pakistani television show. They both said: ‘Yeh ladki achi hai‘. Honey Trehan was casting for us. I called him up and asked if he knew Mahira. He said, ‘She is here in Mumbai for some promotional work.’ He then said, ‘I will bring her tomorrow, you can audition her for the role.’ We then auditioned her at the Excel office. After the audition, I declared, ‘I have found my Aasiya.”
