The real reason why Aishwarya Rai Bachchan refused to do Happy New Year

The hunt for the lead actress to star opposite Shah Rukh Khan in his next home production Happy New Year is on. The last actress approached for the role was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Farah Khan was very excited about this pair because they haven’t been seen together since Devdas (2002).

Also, Ash’s next film is highly awaited since her maternity break. Her next announcement would have added excitement to the project, rather other obvious choices like Kareena Kapoor, who was in Khan’s last production or Deepika Padukone who is working in his current home production Chennai Express. He has also been paired with Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma last year for Jab Tak Hai Jaan, so the choices are limited. ARB would have been perfect for the part.

Says a source close to the actress, “Yes, the film was offered to Aishwarya, and ideally she might have considered it, but the film also stars her hubby Abhishek Bachchan, and he isn’t paired opposite her. That was her reservation. She believes that if they come together in a film, they should be paired opposite each other, else the audience might reject the film.”