Rani Mukerji was not the heroine of Mangal Pandey, only had a cameo when Aamir Khan narrated it to me: Ameesha Patel

Ameesha Patel is gearing up for the release of her comeback film Gadar 2. She will be returning as Sakina opposite Sunny Deol almost 22 years after Gadar’s release. Earlier, Ameesha has featured in films such as Mangal Pandey: The Rising, which had Rani Mukerji opposite Aamir Khan. Ameesha has now revealed that Rani was only supposed to have a cameo in the film and it was she, who was the female lead. Also read: Ameesha Patel accuses Gadar 2 director Anil Sharma of mismanagement on shoot: ‘Accommodation, food bills left unpaid’

About Mangal Pandey: The Rising plot

The 2005 film Mangal Pandey: The Rising was directed by Ketan Mehta and had Aamir Khan in the titular role of a freedom fighter. Ameesha was in the role of a widow, who was rescued from a sati ritual by a British character played by Toby Stephens. Rani was seen in the role of a woman sold by a brothel owner, who ended up falling for Aamir.

Ameesha on Rani’s role in Mangal Pandey

Talking about Rani’s role in the film, Ameesha told Bollywood Hungama in a recent interview, “In Mangal Pandey, she (Rani) was not the heroine of the film. When Aamir narrated me the subject I was opposite the British actor Toby Stephens, and it was only one love angle. And Aamir had a love angle with a British actress, who gets jealous in the middle, that’s why the film was a little roughly edited. Rani was only supposed to be there as a guest appearance for one song.”

But Aamir had different plans

On how Rani went on to have a bigger role, Ameesha added, “Aamir, halfway through the filming, felt that there is one love story with a British actor so let me be earthy and let me have a love story with someone Indian so the audience can relate. From just one item song, Rani ended up having a Holi song with me… but I never felt that why. In fact, she would always say on set, “arey tu kaise itni dubli hai, bata mujhe” because her typical style of talking and I would be sitting, talking while looking prim and proper. There was this contrast completely and we all had a blast shooting. You have to be secure with yourself, leave whatever they want to talk about and just do your job.”

Rani Mukerji had a dance number Vari Vaari and a romantic song Holi Re with Aamir in Mangal Pandey: The Rising. The film was a box office hit.