New Delhi: Juhi Chawla, one of the most likeable actresses in Bollywood turns a year older today. The cherubic actress made her debut with Aamir Khan in ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ in 1988 at the age of 21. She turned producer in 2000 with ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ and was last seen in a movie in 2014 where she starred opposite Madhuri Dixit in the social drama ‘Gulaab Gang’.
She won hearts once again recently when she appeared as a surety for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan before a special court cementing their friendship even further. Juhi and Shah Rukh Khan go back a long way. The two have been paired opposite each other in several movies including ‘Yes Boss’, ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’, ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’ and ‘Ram Jaane’ and are also co-owners of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Despite being a largely non-controversial star, Juhi was always in limelight and some startling revelations about her life came to the fore much later in her career.
Salman Khan’s proposal
For example, not many people know that Salman Khan once proposed marriage to Juhi Chawla but his marriage proposal to Juhi was rejected by the latter’s father! In a throwback interview with ITMB Shows, the Dabangg actor described Juhi as a very ‘sweet’ and ‘adorable’ girl. He had said, “She is very sweet. Adorable girl. I toh asked her father if he will let her get married to me”, Salman was quoted saying in an interview.
When the interviewer asked what happened next, Salman revealed Juhi’s father rejected his proposal. “He said no”, answered Salman. When asked about why Juhi’s father did not agree to the match, Salman shrugged and answered, “Don’t fit the bill, I guess.” “Pata nahi kya chahiye tha. (Don’t know what qualities they wanted)”.
While Salman and Juhi did only one film together, the two share a cordial bond in real life and speak highly of each other. In the same interview, Salman also said that Juhi does not want to work with him.
Marriage to Jay Mehta
Her marriage to businessman Jay Mehta in 1996 came as quite a surprise to industry people. They have two children – a daughter, Janhavi and a son, Arjun. Appearing on the Zee Comedy Show, Sanket Bhosale informed Juhi that he’d read about Jay wooing her with flowers for a year before she accepted his proposal and they began dating. When asked to elaborate about their love story, Juhi couldn’t hide her blush.
Farah Khan, who was also present on the show, was in awe as she noticed Juhi turning red. “Embarrass kar rahe ho aap mujhe (You’re embarrassing me),” Juhi said, trying to look away from Farah and Sanket.
“Bahut purani baat hai, ye kya… (It’s an old incident),” Juhi said. However, Sanket insisted. “Toh kya hua, naye tareeke se batao (So what, tell it in a new way),” he said, leaving Juhi in splits. “Yes, you’re right. He sent me flowers and cards every day for a whole year. But later I realised where these flowers were coming from. He has a factory of flowers,” she said, in Hindi.
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Tiff with Aamir Khan
Did you know that Aamir and Juhi didn’t talk to each other for over half-a-decade?
Aamir had recalled the story at a media interaction for the documentary Rubaru Roshni, which he’d produced. He said, “During the shoot of Ishq, we fought over a small issue. It was a petty one, but I think I was a little egoistic then. So I decided I will not speak to her again. Even on sets, I would keep a distance from her. I don’t know why I behaved that way.” Aamir continued, “Even when she would come and sit beside me, I would walk out. I would go and sit at least 50 feet away from her (laughs). I never greeted her or bid her goodbyes. Only during the scene, if we were required to speak, I would talk to her. But it was only professional.”
Aamir said that they made amends after his divorce from Reena Dutta in 2002. He said, “So for the next six-seven years, we did not speak. But when she got to know about my divorce with Reena, she called me up and asked to meet. Juhi had been close to both Reena and me, and she wanted to sort our differences. Juhi somewhere knew I might not pick up her call, but still she called me. That touched me and I knew the friendship hadn’t been affected a bit between us. We might not have been on talking terms but had continued to care for each other.”
Sridevi fan
Juhi is a self-confessed Sridevi fan and never stops gushing about her. “I have seen Chandni, Chalbaaz, Lamhe over and over again and I find her fabulous in every frame,” she said in a chat with Karan Johar on Koffee With Karan.
Animosity with Madhuri Dixit
A lot was written about Juhi Chawla and Madhuri Dixit’s animosity. And the news of them coming together for Gulab Gang created a buzz in the industry. Talking about the alleged cold war with Madhuri, Juhi said, “I was apprehensive of taking a film (Dil To Pagal Hai) with Madhuri earlier, when we were all rising up in our careers. At that time I did not take on a film because she was in it.” Talking about the film further, Juhi said, “I had just done Darr with Yash ji and was used to all the attention. So when I was offered Dil To Pagal Hai, I said I don’t want to be second to her. That was not a clever decision of mine.”
Wrong decisions
Juhi was also the first choice for Aamir Khan-starrer Raja Hindustani. But she rejected the offer which later went to Karisma. The film further strengthened Karisma’s foothold in the industry. Talking about this in an interview with the Times of India, Juhi said, “When you are flying too high, many a times, you let your ego take the decisions. In my case, I ended up making Karisma Kapoor a star in the process. I was the first choice for Raja Hindustani. She also went on to do Dil To Pagal Hai, which was offered to me first.”
Miss India Universe
Juhi was born in Ludhiana. After graduation, she participated in Femina Miss India. She was crowned Miss India Universe 1984 in USA. She was also declared the National Costume Winner at Miss Universe 1984.
