In an old interview with Rediff, Juhi was asked if she regrets not working with Madhuri Dixit before ‘Gulaab Gang’ in 2014, the actress revealed that The only time she got a chance to work with Madhuri Dixit was in ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai‘.Back then she didn’t want to play the second lead to Madhuri. She admitted that at that time she was a little bubble-headed and made some foolish decisions. Juhi also shared that she rejected ‘Raja Hindustani‘ and ‘Judaai’also. All those films went on to become blockbusters. Juhi added on a lighter note that she is responsible for Karisma Kapoor’s stardom as ‘Raja Hindustani’ was a pivotal role in her career.
In the same interview, Juhi was asked about calling Madhuri her rival in the 1990s and what their equation was like back then. Juhi said that not Madhuri, but Karisma, Manisha Koirala, Raveena Tandon were all rivals. The rivalry remained for some years. According to her, they used to meet only on occasions like some film sets or functions. They would just exchange pleasantries and wouldn’t talk beyond that. They all worked in solo heroine films and very rarely has she done films with two heroines as there used to be constant comparisons.
Juhi had reportedly turned down the lead role in ‘Raja Hindustani’ after she was compared to Madhuri Dixit by filmmaker Dharmesh Darshan. The film also starred Aamir Khan in the lead role. The songs from the movie went on to become chartbusters and are still considered some of the evergreen songs in Bollywood.
