Shah Rukh Khan had later apologised to Aishwarya Rai for this act. The films included Chalte Chalte and Veer Zaara.

Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have collaborated in several films, including Devdas, Josh and Mohabbatein, and remain friends today, but there was a time when their professional relationship hit a roadblock. Aishwarya had accepted on television that SRK had her dropped from five films, including hits such as Veer-Zaara and Chalte Chalte.

When asked if it is true that Shah Rukh Khan had her dropped from multiple films despite their success graph together, Aishwarya said on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, “How can I have the answer to that? Yes, at the time, there was talk of a couple of films that we would be working in together. And then, suddenly they weren’t happening, without any explanation whatsoever. I have never had the answer to why.”

SRK had later expressed regret for his decisions. Shah Rukh had told India Today in an interview in 2003, “To start a project with someone and then change her for no fault of hers is very difficult. It is very sad as Ash is a good friend. Personally I think I did wrong. But as a producer it made sense. I apologised to Ash.”  When told about this, Aishwarya had responded to Simi, “I don’t have the answer to that,” adding that she never spoke to Shah Rukh about it as it is not in her nature.

She said that she was hurt and confused about it. “See, at the time, when you have no explanation, you’re obviously completely taken aback, and confused, and hurt. You wonder about it. If a person feels a need to explain it, they will. If they never did, they never intend to. So, it’s not in my nature to get into questioning what and why. Probably within myself, but I wouldn’t go up to a person and ask why. By the grace of God, I’m not defined by the other.”

The two actors went to appear together in Karan Johar’s 2016 relationship drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in which Shah Rukh had a guest appearance.