If original casting choice for ‘Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai’ would have remained intact then Ayesha Takia would have played the central protagonist in this Milap Zaveri directed film and Jacqueline Fernandez a.k.a. would have been the second lead.

However, as luck would have it, Jackie ended up finding herself playing the main lead while Sonal Sehgal was roped in for the second lead.

What really happened?

“Nothing scandalous actually”, laughs Jackie who is happy with her decision of opting out when offered the second lead role to begin with, “I had originally auditioned for the character of Natasha (which is now being played by Sonal).

I was keen to be a part of the film since I had loved the script. Still, I wasn’t sure though if I would be comfortable playing a second lead.”

Her confusion was justified since at that time she was also in the middle of shooting for ‘Aladin’ where she was the sole heroine.

“I explained my predicament to Milap and he was quite understanding. He wanted me to take a decision which was best for my career.

However, he was unable to offer me the main lead since Ayesha (Takia) was already in. I actually decided to move out and it was a mutual decision which everyone appreciated”, remembers Jackie.

As it turned out though, Ayesha Takia decided to get married and she informed the makers about her inability to being a part of JKSAH where she was roped in to play the role of an alien.

“Really, I don’t quite know what actually transpired between the makers and Ayesha but after a month, I got a call once again, this time with an offer for the role of Tara”, says Jackie with glee in her voice, “I was like wow, now this is something that I really want to do. In any case I was in love with the script and the character of the alien, so I didn’t think twice.”

Did she ever feel that she was a second choice after all? “Arrey nahin, not at all. Such things happen in the industry. People do change their mind so it’s all cool”, smiles away Jackie.

Also starring Ruslaan Mumtaz and Vishal Malhotra in principal roles, ‘Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai’ has music by Sajid Wajid and lyrics by Sameer. A Warner Bros presentation and a co-production of Nikhil Advani and Mukesh Talreja, the film releases all over on 9th April.

Salman Khan’s upcoming Eid release, WANTED, is becoming hotter and hotter. As the D-day approaches huge posters and cut outs of the film can be seen adorning the walls of single screens and multiplexes. The music by Sajid-Wajid is fast becoming a rage, and ”Love Me Love Me” can already be heard on the streets. So, is there anything that is negative in the film?

Well, some people from the trade are of the view that Ayesha Takia, the lead heroine of WANTED is not a commercially successful actress. They feel that she may be very talented but after all these years, is still to deliver a commercially successful flick. And people associate her with more of art house cinema like DOR etc, rather than an out an out commercial potboiler. Apart from that she is already married and sort of retiring from cinema. So, what does Salman Khan feel about it? Salman rubbishes the talk saying that these are narrow minded talks which have no basis. Ayesha is an extremely professional actress and has done a terrific job in WANTED.

He added that today’s audience has changed and many actresses are working after marriage and are very much in demand, both by the public as well as the producers. He revealed that Ayesha plans to continue acting and has quite a few good projects and is getting a lot of offers even after her marriage.

Certainly Salman, we too feel that Ayesha Takia has all the potential, and we are sure that you will provide her the first big hit with WANTED, as we had predicted long time back on our favourite portal. (Will WANTED be Ayesha Takia’s swan song!- May 16)

Boney Kapoor’s latest production Wanted will hit the theatres pan India on 7 August.

The film, staring Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar, Mehak and South Indian star Prakash Raja, marks the directorial debut of choreographer/actor Prabhu Deva.

The music of the film has been composed by the duo Sajid-Wajid.

Meanwhile, the other two films from the Boney Kapoor production stable, Milenge Milenge and It’s my life, are slated to release sometime in September-October.