Dil To Pagal Hai Re-release: One wrong decision of Manisha Koirala helped Karisma Kapoor win National Award

Dil To Pagal Hai is all set to re-release on February 28. This YRF movie led by Shah Rukh Khan , Madhuri Dixit, and Karisma Kapoor is known for its fabulous songs, strong chemistry between SRK and Maddy, and the exclusive dance-off between Lolo and Madhuri Dixit.

The movie was a hit and all three lead stars won Filmfare Awards that year. Interestingly, Karisma Kapoor also won her first National Award as a supporting actress for Dil To Pagal Hai. But she was not the first actress to whom this role was offered.

The era of pure romance and love is coming back to the theatres this week! Rewatch Dil To Pagal Hai from 28th February ♥️ @_PVRCinemas | @INOXMovies | @Cinepolisindia https://t.co/LHZ2nDSSGh | https://t.co/dDZfL84g9d pic.twitter.com/3XehZx8mdL

— Yash Raj Films (@yrf) February 24, 2025

Karisma Kapoor’s role was offered to many actresses

Yash Chopra who directed Dil To Pagal Hai had first offered this role to Juhi Chawla. But she refused since there was a rivalry between Madhuri Dixit and the Darr actress at that time. It was also offered to Kajol, Raveena Tandon, and Urmila Matondkar.

Urmila first accepted the role, shot for a day or two but later on sent a message that she would not be doing this role. Another big actress of that time, Manisha Koirala was also offered this role but she refused. The main reason most of the actresses rejected this role was because Madhuri Dixit was at the top at that time. Also, the movie Dil To Pagal Hai had dance as the base, and eventually, the other actress had to compete with Bollywood’s dancing queen in the film.

Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) pic.twitter.com/aHHhXL4Ky9

— ady (@adyjpg) February 17, 2025

To date, no one has been able to match Madhuri Dixit in dancing on Bollywood’s screen and hence the insecurity was understandable.

Manisha Koirala regrets rejecting the role

When the role was later on offered to Karisma Kapoor she also wanted to reject it fearing that she would have to compete against her idol Madhuri. But Babitaji encouraged her to take the role saying, “You are a big fan of Madhuri Dixit, you must do it. You work hard and you will shine". And her hard work paid off and earned her a National Award.

Manisha Koirala. Exclusivr pic.twitter.com/OGSfx0X2Ey

— Just Max (@justmaxonx) November 12, 2024

On the other hand, Manisha Koirala who has given some stunning performances in movies like Bombay, Dil Se, and Agnisakshi to date laments rejecting the role. During one of her interviews, the Khamoshi actress said, “One of the regrets that I have in my career is that I didn’t do Yash Chopra’s film. I was pitted against Madhuri ji (Dixit), and I got scared. I backed out of that project.”