Aishwarya Rai refused Shah Rukh’s Happy New Year for Abhishek: ‘As a wife, you narrow down’

In a 2018 interview, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan revealed her decision to decline Shah Rukh Khan's 2014 film Happy New Year. Initially considered an ideal comeback role for the actress, the film's casting presented a dilemma. Aishwarya had just returned to cinema after giving birth to her daughter Aaradhya, and she felt uncomfortable with the prospect of sharing the screen with both Shah Rukh Khan and her husband, Abhishek Bachchan, without being paired romantically with him.

While she acknowledged the opportunity as a perfect way to make her comeback, Aishwarya ultimately declined the film, stating that it wouldn't have worked out for both her and Abhishek to be cast opposite each other. She clarified that while she would have loved to star in Manwa Lage, the dynamic of the film with Shah Rukh Khan as her on-screen partner made it an unappealing option.

This was not Aishwarya's first instance of turning down a promising project; she had reportedly been offered several other successful films like Troy, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Krrish, and Bajirao Mastani over the years. Despite her professional reluctance, Aishwarya and Abhishek have not shared the screen together since their 2008 film Sarkar Raj, and they have not collaborated since their daughter's birth in 2011.