Mahima Chaudhary Wasn't The First Choice For Subhash Ghai's Pardes?

We all remember Pardes for the actors' brilliant performances and Nadeem Shravan's melodious tunes. Directed by Subhash Ghai, Pardes was released 20 years ago, on 8th August, 1997. The movie was successful at the box-office.  Mahima Chaudhary won the Best Newcomer Award for her performance.

Anand Bakshi had penned the lyrics and Nadeem Shravan duo had composed the music for Pardes. The song I love My India was extremely successful for it released on the 50th year of Independence Day celebrations.  

Mahima Chaudhary was widely praised for her performance. Mahima used to host a TV Show called Public Demand with Roshan Abbas. Interestingly, Mahima Chaudhary wasn't even the second choice for the role of Ganga. Subhash Ghai had first offered the role to Madhuri Dixit, but she couldn't do it for reasons best known to her. It was rumored that She wasn't happy with the director during the shoot of Khalnayak and therefore declined the role. The director considered Juhi Chawla for the role, however he decided to audition Mahima for the role. Mahima had a successful audition and Subhash Ghai was extremely impressed by her acting skills that he instantly decided to cast her for the role.
 
Subhash Ghai is superstitious about her heroine names beginning with letter 'M'. Mahima Chaudhary's real name is Ritu Chaudhary, however to ensure his film's success, Subhash Ghai had asked Ritu to change her name to Mahima.  Pardes went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters of the era. Mahima and Subhash Ghai also had a minor tiff over legal documents related to her remuneration. However, the duo amicably settled the issue later.