Raveena Tandon Reveals Why She Declined Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and the Iconic ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ Song

In the 1990s, Raveena Tandon stood among the most prominent faces of Hindi cinema. Her popularity surged dramatically after the blockbuster success of the 1994 film Mohra, which strengthened her position as a leading heroine in the industry.

Around the same period, filmmaker Karan Johar approached her for a part in his debut movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, but she decided against accepting the offer because the role was not the primary female lead.

Speaking recently in an interview, Raveena explained that her refusal was guided by where she stood professionally at the time.

She said she valued her friendship with Karan Johar and admired the project, yet she felt that after reaching a certain peak with Mohra, taking on a supporting role would have meant stepping backward in her career.

She noted that if she was returning to films, she wanted to do so as the central heroine — even in a smaller project — rather than appear in a secondary character.

According to her, this approach might have suited a newcomer like Rani Mukerji, who eventually played the part and benefited from it, but for someone already established, restarting from a lesser position was not an easy choice.

Raveena also shared another decision she still remembers — turning down the famous track “Chaiyya Chaiyya” from Mani Ratnam’s 1998 film Dil Se.

Though she was eager to collaborate with the acclaimed director, she worried that appearing only in a special dance number could typecast her as an “item performer,” something she wished to avoid at that stage.

The song later featured Malaika Arora opposite Shah Rukh Khan and became hugely popular, instantly elevating Malaika’s recognition and helping her gain a lasting identity as one of Bollywood’s most celebrated dancers.

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