'Had To Destroy Aishwarya Rai's Image': 27 Years Later, Subhash Ghai Reveals The Big Risk Behind Taal's Casting

The greatest showman they called him - Subhash Ghai.

A name that ricocheted through the walls of the '90s cinematic world so triumphantly, and rightfully so.

He gave us the songs, he gave us the moments, he gave us Taal.

The 1999 musical blockbuster created history by becoming the first Indian film to break into the Top 20 on Variety's global box office chart.

Interestingly, there was a lot of resistance that Subhash Ghai faced when he decided to cast two newcomers for his film - Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai. Today's generation only sees their laurels and the superstardom they gained, but in 1999, they were just two years into their careers. Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai had both debuted in 1997, the former with Himalay Putra and the latter in Mani Ratnam's Tamil political drama Iruvar.

And then Taal got the two together in a romantic saga. A rich NRI businessman, Manav (Akshaye Khanna), falls in love with a village belle, also a talented woman with a swan-like voice and smooth dancing moves. Soon, their story takes a classist turn when the guy's family refuses to accept Mansi (Aishwarya Rai) for her background. But as fate would have it, Mansi's path crosses with the suave music producer Vikrant (Anil Kapoor) and she rises to fame. He falls in love with her too, and becomes the catalyst to lead her to her first love, Manav, and hence happily-ever-after sustains.

But one thing that Subhash Ghai was sure of back then, and still is today, is that Taal was a film that deserved fresh faces. As he recently announced that the Taal 2 script is almost done, he reiterated - Taal cannot have 'stars'.

'Liked Akshaye Khanna's Intensity, Had To Destroy Aishwarya Rai's Image'

Speaking of how Akshaye Khanna came to be a part of the film, Subhash Ghai says, "Taal was his second film. His father, actor Vinod Khanna, brought him to my home and recommended him for casting. I said I like the boy because to me he looked intense."

As for Aishwarya Rai, she was recommended by ace choreographer Saroj Khan. Fresh off her pageant victory, Subhash Ghai shares how he asked Saroj Khan who he should cast who could be a great dancer.

After all, Taal is the story of Mansi, a gifted singer and dancer from a small town.

And Saroj Khan said, if not Madhuri Dixit, it was Aishwarya Rai. In fact, in an old viral interview, Akshaye Khanna had once said how he could not take his eyes off Aishwarya Rai; she was that unbelievably beautiful.

Subhash Ghai laughs as he recalls, "Ash ka jab naam aaya tha, woh cosmetic world se aayi thi. Toh chaar-paanch naam the, main ne Saroj ji se pucha, Madhuri ke alawa kisko le sakte hai. She said Aishwarya."

He continues, "Aishwarya had this image from the cosmetic world. I called her, she came, and I told her that I need to destroy your image. But you will be doing no makeup in the first hour. She said, yes, I will do whatever you say. As a director, you have to think about your character."

Concept Of 'Intimacy Coaches' On Set

Taal is probably one of the most intense romantic films of all time. Subhash Ghai brought it to life like a cinematic spectacle so lush with traditional romance. He aesthetically folded elite western-style choreography with an Indianised mood board, that elevated the frames to a whole new level.

Taal is simply lyrical poetry.

While the iconic A.R. Rahman songs Taal Se Taal Mila and Ishq Bina echo in the backdrop, what makes time stand still is Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai's scorching chemistry.

Today, a very common concept is of having intimacy directors on set. But back in the '90s, it was just the director's lens and vision, and the scenes rolled.

There's a particular scene in the film that the filmmaker recalls, and how it was simply elevated with the scenic mountain beauty around. There is a kissing scene between Aishwarya Rai and Akshaye Khanna in the film, which is not outright explicit, but a more tender and unconventional touch to the love story that was simmering and coming to the surface.

It is the artistic touch to that scene by Subhash Ghai that is still celebrated and discussed by cinephiles to date. The director too concurs, "I am glad people accepted the spiritual journey of the two lovers."

Speaking of bringing romance to life on screen, he adds, "Can you tell me the best romantic scene? There is one in the 1960 Mughal-e-Azam, which is one of the most iconic romantic scenes in the history of Indian cinema. So, according to me, the physicality part comes later. Emotional, mental and spiritual part comes first. And that's what you see in Taal."

What If Taal Released In The Age Of Social Media?

As we near the closing of this conversation, Subhash Ghai answers what the scenario would be like for a Day 1 release, had Taal released today.

Subhash Ghai says, "Taal aaj release hoti toh troll ho jaati social media pe. Thank god uss waqt social media nahi tha. Meri toh waat laga dete first report se. Kitni slow the, long songs, pehle ek week tak toh television pe bhi kaha ki jungle mein mor nachake isne dekha, overseas mein chali hai toh kya hua. Main Saturday ko London mein tha aur mere distributors ne kaha, Taal in New Jersey, pura complex ikkis screens ke the, aur aaj hum, unnis screens mein laga rahe hai, itna rush hai. I was in London on Saturday when my distributors told me, “Taal is playing in New Jersey. The entire complex has 21 screens, and today we're showing it on 19 screens. There is such a huge rush. (If Taal were released today, it would have been trolled on social media. Thank God there was no social media back then. They would have made my life miserable based on the first reports. People said it was too slow and had long songs. For the first week, television channels even kept saying, “So what if it has made the peacock dance in the jungle and done well overseas?)”

"Toh humne pucha overseas waalo ko samajh aa raha hai toh Indians ko kyun nahi aa raha. He said Indians mein problem yeh hai aap ke jo dost aur dushman hai woh accha kaam kar rahe hai, yeh koshish kar rahe hai ki film ko recognition na mile. Toh pehle 2-4 din mein bahut tension mein the. Par pehle ki baat yahi thi ki shuru mein advance booking aur woh sab bahut kuch chal ta tha, phir baad mein films pick up kar lete the iconic ban jaate the (So we asked, ‘If audiences overseas are able to understand it, why aren't Indians able to?' He said, ‘The problem with Indians is that your friends and enemies are doing a good job of trying to ensure that the film doesn't receive any recognition. So, for the first two to four days, we were extremely tense. But things were different back then. Initially, advance bookings and all of that played a major role, and later, films would pick up and go on to become iconic),” he concludes.

And so it did. The 'pure love' aesthetic of Taal, to this date, resonates and seems like we have been transported to the '90s through Subhash Ghai's lens. As the film turns 27. Sur, taal, sab hai, aur hum abhi bhi Taal se taal mila rahe hai.

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