Did you know? Khatron Ke Khiladi 11 contestant Mahekk Chahal was the first choice for Bipasha Basu's character in Ajnabee

Akshay Kumar, Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor, and Bobby Deol starrer Ajnabee is one thriller from the new millennium that we still talk about. The movie which had Akshay playing the villain and was bold enough to bring up the subject of wife swapping in Bollywood, Ajnabee also introduced Bipasha Basu who soon became a household name.

The model turned actor, however, wasn’t the original choice to play Akshay’s wife Sonia in the film. According to reports, Khatron Ke Khiladi 11 contestant and former Bigg Boss alum Mahekk Chahal was first cast in the role but was later replaced in the film by Bipasha.

Not just Mehak, reportedly Priyanka Chopra was also considered for the role but the actress later went on to sign another Abbas Mastaan thriller Aitraaz which also starred Kareena Kapoor and Akshay Kumar.

Apart from Bipasha’s role in the film, Akshay Kumar’s villainous Vikram was also apparently a hard role to cast in Ajnabee. The part may have won Akshay a Filmfare award but it was first offered to Shah Rukh Khan who was supposedly not keen on playing the villain. Bobby Deol was apparently later cast in the role which was later given to Akshay while the former went on to play the second lead actor playing Raj Malhotra opposite Kareena Kapoor.

Ajnabee released in cinemas in 2001 two decades ago.