WHY AAMIR KHAN GOT DIVYA BHARTI REPLACED WITH JUHI CHAWLA IN ‘DARR’
Divya Bharti was one of the most attractive actors of her time. At the age of 16, she made her acting debut in the critically acclaimed Telugu film Bobbili Raja. She made her Hindi film debut in 1992 with the action thriller Vishwatma, after appearing in a series of high-grossing Telugu films. Over the course of a year, she appeared in over a dozen dependably profitable Hindi films. Between 1990 and 1993, she worked in the film industry and met most of the A-listers who reigned the 1990s. Did you know, though, that Divya Bharti and Aamir Khan were the original choices for Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla’s Darr?
Aamir and Divya, on the other hand, did not appear in the film. It all began in 1992, when Divya screamed at Aamir after he refused to perform with her during a London tour. He expressed his dissatisfaction with her unpredictable behaviour. “Aamir is not the one who should be furious with me,” Divya stated in an interview. That man should irritate me, not the other way around. What happens when you’re performing live on stage? It’s only natural to make a mistake. I did make a mistake that was barely obvious, but I quickly covered it up. But Aamir only noticed because he was familiar with the moves.
Aamir even skipped the medley number he was scheduled to do with me for the rest of the shows. He claimed he was too exhausted. I was left with only one solo song, ‘Saat Samunder.’ I couldn’t stop crying. Salman came to my aid at that point. Salman Khan was gracious enough to agree to do the medley with me despite having a lot of numbers and a fractured foot. The thoughtfulness of the gesture moved me greatly. And I’m sure Aamir was taken aback.” In the 1993 film Darr, Divya was cast opposite Sunny Deol in the part of Kiran Awasthi, and while there were allegations that Divya dropped out due to her conflicts with director and producer Yash Chopra, Divya’s mother said that Aamir Khan replaced Divya with Juhi on board. “Many people still assume Divya lost Darr because she had an issue with Yash Chopra,” she remarked in an interview. That was not the case at all. Sunny wanted Divya opposite him when he was signed. Aamir, on the other hand, desired Juhi Chawla. Unfortunately, we were in America at the time for some gigs. They announced Darr with Sunny, Divya, and Aamir before we departed. Sunny, Juhi, and Aamir were there when we returned. Aamir, who was simultaneously working on Parampara with Yash Chopra, appeared to have pushed Juhi and had Divya dropped. He was dropped after he got Juhi into Darr, and Shah Rukh was kidnapped.”
According to reports, Divya was offered Deewana after the film Darr, which starred Rishi Kapoor, Divya Bharti, and Armaan Kholi. However, Armaan resigned from the film for various reasons, and the character was subsequently offered to Aamir, who declined owing to his disputes with Divya, and the role was then given to SRK, who made his debut in the film.
On April 5, 1993, Divya Bharti died at the age of 19. Divya died as a result of head injuries she sustained after falling off the balcony of her fifth-floor apartment in Mumbai’s Versova neighbourhood. At the time of her death, the Deewana actress was more than halfway through filming Laadla, and the film was reshot with Sridevi in her place. She was replaced in several more films, including Mohra, Kartavya, Vijaypath, Dilwale, and Andolan, which she had not completed. Some projects for which Bharti had not yet begun filming were subsequently shelved.
At the age of 14, while performing some modelling projects, the late actress aspired to a career in films and began receiving offers. The Bollywood film industry suffered a significant loss as a result of her demise.
