There was never any alternative for either Shahrukh or Rani. <br><br><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>The casting of “Zaara†needed some thinking… I needed an actress who had an image completely different from Zaara’s character. She had to surprise the audiences. Instinctively, I wanted to try the unexpected. <br><br><br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>Preity had earlier played modern, largely western looking characters, and had a youthful image. I decided to mould her into the character. We worked on tests with makeup costumes, jewellery… the Zaara look that I had in mind. And after 3 tests, I knew I had my “Zaaraâ€.<br><p class=clear>&nbsp;</p>