Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 6, 2018)

There had been buzz about Karan Johar signing Sridevi for a film in October last year. The late actress was to be paired with Sanjay Dutt, while Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt were also to be a part of the project that was to be directed Abhishek Varman. While the team remained tightlipped then, Karan has opened up on the subject.

A source from the talent hunt reality show, India’s Next Superstars that KJo judges alongside Rohit Shetty, said, “Karan revealed that Sridevi was elated when he proposed to launch her daughter Janhvi in Dhadak. Exactly a week later, he went to her residence again to ask if she can be a part of another Dharma film that he had conceptualised. Sridevi had loved the idea of the movie and they were supposed to begin shooting in April. However, life struck with its uncertainty and Sridevi was taken away before Karan had a chance to work with her for the first time.”

Meanwhile, the 45-year-old filmmaker also went on to reveal on the show that as a kid, he had a video cassette named ‘Best of Sridevi’, which featured all the late actress’s hit songs. “Karan would watch it repeatedly because he was a big fan. He also shared that Shekhar Kapur (who directed Mr India) had accepted a challenge from Feroz Khan (who’d made Jaanbaaz), that nobody can make Sridevi look as sexy as he did in a chiffon saree. The Mr India song 'Kaate Nahi Katate' with her in a blue chiffon sari was shot as a direct consequence of that challenge,” the source said.