Mohabbatein Actor Shares SRK's Friendly Gesture On Veer-Zaara Set; Says Aishwarya Rai ‘Chose To Look Through Us'

Rushad Rana shared a fond memory of reuniting with Shah Rukh Khan on the sets of 'Veer-Zaara' after their time on 'Mohabbatein'.

Actor Rushad Rana, who starred alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai in 'Mohabbatein', recently shared his experiences working with these Bollywood icons. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, he reflected on how he unexpectedly landed an audition for the film and ultimately secured a role in the 2000 blockbuster romantic drama.

Rushad Rana recalls meeting Shah Rukh Khan

Set in Gurukul, a strict boys' school led by headmaster Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan), 'Mohabbatein' explores the clash between love and strict rules. Directed by Aditya Chopra, the film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Aishwarya Rai.

Rushad Rana, one of the students in the film, shared a fond memory of reuniting with Shah Rukh Khan on the sets of 'Veer-Zaara' after their time on 'Mohabbatein'.

"When I met him for Veer-Zaara, he remembered me from Mohabbatein, and imagine, I wasn’t even one of the three main boys in Mohabbatein, yet he remembered me. I still recall, on the first day of shooting Veer-Zaara, when I met him, he told Adi sir (Aditya Chopra) that I had worked with him in Mohabbatein. Of course, he didn’t remember my name, so I introduced myself and said, 'I'm Rushad, and I'm glad you remember me.' He replied, 'Of course I remember you, but I won’t call you Rushad; I'll call you partner.' Throughout the shooting of Veer-Zaara, Shah Rukh called me 'partner.' When you see these big stars on set, behaving with so much humility, it's something I can’t even begin to explain,” Rushad said.

Mohabbatein actor says Aishwarya Rai 'ignored' them

In the film, Aishwarya Rai portrayed Megha, the late love interest of Raj Aryan Malhotra, played by Shah Rukh Khan.

When asked about Aishwarya Rai's behavior on set, Rana mentioned that he had no interaction with the actress, as she chose to ignore them. He said, "There was no interaction at all. Aishwarya Rai in Mohabbatein chose to look through us. Preity Zinta in Veer-Zaara chose to look through us. If they choose to look through us, what can you do?"

Alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, and Shah Rukh Khan, the film also boasts a supporting cast of then-newcomers, including Uday Chopra, Jugal Hansraj, Shamita Shetty, Jimmy Shergill, Preeti Jhangiani, and Kim Sharma.