Filmmaker Subhash Ghai was initially hesitant to cast Aishwarya Rai as Mansi, the simple small-town girl in his 1999 hit Taal. His doubts originated from the actress’ ‘cosmetic’ image after she won the Miss World title in 1994. In a recent interview, Ghai recalled how late choreographer Saroj Khan recommended Aishwarya for the female lead in Taal.During a conversation with Times Now, the director revealed that he had asked Khan who, apart from Madhuri Dixit, could handle the demanding dance requirements of the character.“Saroj Khan recommended her name. I asked her that there are 3-4 heroines currently, and who dances the best. She took Aish’s name. I was shocked and told her that Aish belongs to the cosmetic world,” he shared.Saroj Khan choreographed the song ‘Ramta Jogi’ in the movie Taal.Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar changed Subhash Ghai’s mindThe filmmaker further recalled that he initially saw Aishwarya as an actress who belonged more to the world of modelling and beauty pageants. However, watching Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar changed his perspective.“I saw 1-2 films of her so I felt that she was more on the modelling and cosmetic side. A friend of mine asked me to watch her Mani Ratnam film,” he said.ALSO READ | Nikki Walia says she was attacked for quitting Bollywood: ‘Women were objectified, treated unfairly’Story continues below this adHe continued, “Mani Ratnam kept a trial for me and when I saw the Tamil movie Iruvar, I knew that she was the girl. I told her that you won’t have makeup at all in the beginning and then it would increase slowly, and you would eventually become a diva.”Aishwarya Rai’s commitment to TaalGhai also praised Aishwarya’s commitment and spoke about the importance of actors trusting a filmmaker’s vision.He said “When actor surrenders to the director, then things happen. They should surrender. Amitabh Bachchan always used to tell me that he sees a filmmaker’s passion, listen to two lines of the film’s story and says yes, because it’s that director’s film. The problem with many stars is that they try to become a creative partner. Aishwarya Rai, Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, all three of them surrendered. She was very hard working and fully committed,” highlighting how Aishwarya Rai was completely surrendered in front of the director.The 1999 musical romantic drama Taal was directed and produced by Subhash Ghai. The film also starred Akshaye Khanna (Manav Mehta), and Anil Kapoor (Vikrant Kapoor) in lead roles, along with Amrish Puri and Alok Nath. The music was composed by AR Rahman.