When you listen to the song Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga, you only have a demure and glowing Manisha Koirala from 1994's 1942: A Love Story pop up in your subconscious.
But not many know that Manisha Koirala was not the first choice for the film. Noted lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar once revealed that Madhuri Dixit was the original heroine of the film and that he wrote Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga for her.
Years ago at a media event, Javed Akhtar -- who served as the lyricist on 1942: A Love Story -- said Madhuri Dixit left the film before it started shooting and Manisha Koirala replaced her.
"Iss hall mein ye baat-cheet do log jaante hain, ek main aur ek Madhuri Dixit... Woh ye ki jis picture ka ye gaana (Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga) hai originally usmein cast ye hui thi... 1942 ki original heroine ye hain. Mujhe Taj mein ye ek party mein mili thi aur maine inse bahut shikayat ki ki mujhe maloom tha aap heroine hain, maine toh aapke liye gaana likha tha aur aapne woh film hee chhod di. (Only two people in this hall know about this. I am one and the other one in Madhuri Dixit. She was originally cast in the film of which this song belongs to. I met her at a party at the Taj and complained to her that I had written that song for her because she was the heroine and she left the film itself)" he said at the event where the song was sung for Madhuri Dixit.
"Lekin mujhe khushi hai ke aaj ye gaana inke liye gaaya gaya... isliye ke ye gaane inhee ke liye likha gaya tha... (But I'm happy that this song was sung for her because I wrote the song for her)" he added, as Madhuri Dixit blushed and laughed at the revelation.
In fact, when she was starting out in the 1990s, Manisha Koirala was even referred to as Madhuri Dixit's lookalike, a comparison the former "wasn't flattered" by. The duo later went on to co-star in Lajja, the 2001 crime drama directed by Rajkumar Santoshi.
"Honestly, those days, I wasn't flattered. But today, I am. Because she is so beautiful. She is so graceful. And not only that, she is a wonderful woman. As a person, I just love her. And it was quite an honour. By then, I had also matured. My eyes had opened and I was seeing, my goodness, such a humble person. Super talented and so beautiful," she said in an earlier interview.
Manisha Koirala later found out that Madhuri Dixit had recommended her name to filmmaker Subhash Ghai who launched her in 1991's Saudagar.
"She had seen me in Rakesh Shrestha's photoshoot. And she had actually told Subhash (Ghai) Ji that I've seen one girl, 'You should see her for Saudagar'. That's how Subhash Ji called for my photograph from Rakesh Shrestha," she added.
While Manisha Koirala was last seen in the Netflix series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, next up for Madhuri Dixit is JioHotstar show Mrs Deshpande.
