Boney Kapoor, who is currently gearing up for his upcoming production, Maidaan, starring Ajay Devgn, recently revealed that he convinced the makers of English Vinglish to cast his late wife, actress Sridevi, instead of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who was the first choice.
Talking to Zoom, Boney Kapoor stated that English Vinglish director Gauri Shinde was supposed to do the film with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and R Balki wanted to do it with Sridevi in South Indian languages.
“There couldn’t be anybody better to do the Hindi version too. She will be more convincing as a person who can’t speak English. She’s (Aishwarya) been Miss India. I mean, I don’t know if this should be there or not. I feel she’s (Sridevi) is far more suited than anybody else," added Kapoor.
In English Vinglish, Sridevi played the role of Shashi Godbole, a traditional housewife and a small-time entrepreneur who sells laddoos but is often mocked by her husband and daughter for not being able to speak English.
However, things take a turn when she goes to New York for her niece’s wedding and decides to secretly enroll herself in an English language class.
The film also starred Adil Hussain, Sulabha Deshpande, Navika Kotia, Mehdi Nebbou, and Priya Anand, among others.
Sridevi passed away on 24 February 2018 after drowning in the bathtub of the hotel in Dubai.
