According to some media reports, Rekha was Yash Chopra’s first choice to play Chandni Mathur.
The late actress Sridevi has been a phenomenon in the Indian film industry. One of her most prominent performances was the 1989 film Chandni, directed by the late legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra. The film brought Sridevi immense commercial and critical acclaim and established her as a powerhouse actress in the industry. However, some media reports claim that she was not the first choice for the iconic role.
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While Sridevi impressed the audience as Chandni Mathur in the iconic film, certain reports claim that the role was first offered to Rekha. The reports claim that although Rekha loved the script, she suggested that Yash Chopra should cast a younger actress for the role. The reports also claim that it was Rekha who recommended Sridevi’s name to the director.
The film then went on to become a big hit and even won the National Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Besides Sridevi, the film also features Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor in the lead. Chandni also features stellar performances from Waheeda Rehman, Anupam Kher, Sushma Seth, Mita Vashisht and Manohar Singh in key roles.
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Sridevi passed away on February 28, 2018, in Dubai when she was attending a wedding. The heartbreaking news shook the country and fans across the globe mourned with the Kapoor family for days.
Speaking with The New Indian Express this year, Boney confirmed that Sridevi’s death was ‘accidental’. It was reported that Sridevi died of accidental drowning. She was found dead in her hotel room in Dubai. Boney said that the officials who investigated him in connection with Sridevi’s death told him that they were performing the interrogation due to the media pressure at the time.
“It was not a natural death; it was an accidental death. I had decided not to speak about it because I spoke about it for almost 24 or 48 hours together when I was being investigated and interrogated. In fact, the officers said we had to go through this because there was a lot of pressure from Indian media. And they discovered there was no foul play. I went through all the tests, including lie detector tests and all those things. And then, of course, the report which came clearly stated it was accidental,” he said.
