When Imtiaz Ali revealed about waiting 2 years to cast Bobby Deol in Jab We Met before opting for Shahid Kapoor: "a time came when I didn’t find it correct..."

Imtiaz went on to explain that despite waiting an extra two years after the release of Socha Na Tha, Bobby Deol was unable to adjust his schedule to commit to Jab We Met.

Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met, featuring Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor, has earned its place as one of Bollywood's most beloved romantic films. The characters of Geet and Aditya have become iconic, with the couple continuing to be adored by fans of romantic comedies. Like many major successes, the film wasn't without its share of controversies.

One such controversy arose when Bobby Deol revealed that he had initially curated the entire project, only to be replaced by Shahid Kapoor. Reflecting on this, director Imtiaz Ali recently spoke about the casting changes, offering insights into what happened behind the scenes and clarifying the situation.

In a 2023 interview with Lallantop, Imtiaz Ali shared his perspective on the casting incident and explained that he had initially wanted to make Jab We Met with Bobby Deol, as they shared a close friendship. He revealed that he patiently waited for two years for Bobby to wrap up his other commitments before proceeding with the project. "Socha Na Tha took five years to make and release. Meanwhile, I was trying to start a new film so Bobby was going to do Jab We Met. Then Socha Na Tha got over but I still didn’t make the film for two years because I wanted Bobby to start it," the director said.

Imtiaz went on to explain that despite waiting an extra two years after the release of Socha Na Tha, Bobby Deol was unable to adjust his schedule to commit to Jab We Met. He added that after spending five years on his previous project and then waiting for another two years, he found himself in a financial bind. This ultimately led him to make the difficult decision to recast the role.

Imtiaz mentioned that Bobby Deol was receiving offers from prominent directors and was waiting for those opportunities to materialize. However, as time passed and the film kept getting postponed, Imtiaz felt that it was no longer the right time to wait any longer. He further stated, "Because I did Socha Na Tha for five years and I didn’t do a film for two years after that, so it was putting financial strain on me. Then I told Bobby, 'Let’s not make this film. Let’s shake our hands and decide we will not do this film together because then our thing will be affected."

Also read: Sweet Dreams Producer Pranjal Khandhdiya explores a fresh take on romance in the digital age: "not a simple boy meet girl and falling in love, but it's about 2 people..." |Exclusive

Later in 2017, Bobby Deol shared his side of the story in an interview with HuffPost India. He shared that he had recommended Kareena Kapoor for the film and mentioned that Shri Ashtvinayak Studio was keen to sign him. He further revealed that he suggested the studio approach Imtiaz Ali, knowing that the director already had a script prepared.

Bobby Deol was surprised when he learned that Ashtavinayak had signed Imtiaz Ali for Jab We Met, with Kareena Kapoor cast in the lead. He was even more taken aback when he found out that Kareena had brought in her then-boyfriend, Shahid Kapoor, to star opposite her. Reflecting on the turn of events, he expressed his amazement at how things unfolded in the industry.

Meanwhile, Bobby Deol has made an excellent comeback in movies with his impressive performance in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal. He has several upcoming projects lined-up including Thalapathy 69, Alpha, Hari Hara Veera Mallu and Aryan Khan’s directorial debut for Netflix and the Humraaz sequel.