Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara has set the cash registers ringing. The Hindi film has become one of the biggest hits of this year, with Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda‘s dramatic love story touching the heart of the audience. Some fans are even drawing comparisons with Suri’s previous hit, Aashiqui 2. Released in 2013, the movie catapulted Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor to overnight stardom, similar to how Ahaan and Aneet have gained popularity after Saiyaara. But do you know that Aditya Roy Kapur wasn’t the first choice for the role? Who was the first choice for Aditya Roy Kapur’s character in Aashiqui 2? Aditya Roy Kapur wasn’t the first choice for Mohit Suri’s romance musical Aashiqui 2, the spiritual sequel to 1990 Mahesh Bhatt’s film Aashiqui. The lead role of Rahul Jaykar was initially offered to Emraan Hashmi. However, he rejected the film, after which the makers decided to go with Kapur. Why did Emraan Hashmi reject Aashiqui 2? In an earlier interview, Emraan Hashmi talked about turning down multiple films which later became blockbusters. Among them was Aashiqui 2. Explaining the real reason behind his move, the actor mentioned that he did not believe he was suitable for the project as it required new faces. The 46-year-old also revealed that both the movie’s producer, Mahesh Bhatt, and director, Mohit Suri, believed he was the ideal candidate for the character. Emraan Hashmi had collaborated with Mohit Suri in multiple films previously – Zeher, Kalyug, Awarapan, and Murder 2. “Aashiqui is a franchise that needs to be done with fresh faces. The franchise worked because the lead pair had no public perception, just like the original film (Rahul Roy, Anu Aggarwal). Aashiqui 2 will work with actors who don’t have a certain public image. Thus, I rejected the film,” he told Lallantop. Emraan Hashmi on whether he regrets his decision Emraan Hashmi was then asked if he ever regretted his decision. To this, he immediately responded, “I don’t regret it. It made complete sense to me at that time. People may question it because, in retrospect, the film did well. But it did well because there were fresh faces. I don’t think I would have been able to add value at that time. I had an image already.” Watch the entire conversation here: Hashmi was last seen in the 2025 film Ground Zero as BSF Deputy Commandant Narendra Nath Dube. Next, he has two Telugu films titled OG and G2, as well as the Hindi movies: Awarapan 2, Gunmaaster G9 in the pipeline.