Deepika Padukone gave two of her career-best performances in two of her biggest hits, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat. However, not many know the fact that she was not the first choice Sanjay Leela Bhansali had in his mind as his female lead in these period dramas. It was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who was SLB's first choice, as the former Miss World and Fanney Khan actress revealed in a recent interview.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has worked with Bhansali in her career-defining movie, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Guzaarish, told Spotboye that the director had offered her Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat. However, she said he couldn't find the right heroes for her. She revealed, "Bajirao Mastani also we were supposed to do together. He didn’t get the Bajirao for me. He didn’t get the Khilji for me; He wanted me to do Padmaavat, but could not get the Khilji for me, at the casting time. So, that’s how it didn’t happen. I would love to work together.” If we remember right, SLB actually wanted to make Bajirao Mastani with her and Salman Khan, but we don't expect Ash to say that right, do we?

As for Khilji in Padmaavat, portrayed by Ranveer Singh in the film, Ash had this to say, "The person he saw to play Khilji with me playing Padmaavati did not happen. So, at the end of the day, you need to see the casting. If the casting is not happening, then sometimes, it doesn’t come together. The intention is always there to work together, but it didn’t happen. We both loved working with each other, so let’s see, whenever it is meant to be." Funny, she never mentioned the role of Raja Rattan Singh (the role played by Shahid Kapoor in Padmaavat), 'cos Khilji and Padmavati never came face-to-face in the movie. Does that mean the film that Aishwarya was offered was different from what we saw earlier this year?

As for Deepika not being the first choice, it also applies to Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela... Ram Leela too, where Kareena Kapoor Khan was linked to the role first.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 04, 2018 06:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).