Director Ashutosh Gowariker on casting his 2 title characters: "When I heard the story the first time straightaway the two names, the two faces, that came to my mind were Hrithik and Aishwarya. I've been an admirer of their work right from their very first films, be it Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) or ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997). I have been fascinated by the way they have actually sculpted their graphs -- especially with a character like Rohit, which he did in Koi... Mil Gaya (2003). I thought that he is experimenting a lot, while staying within mainstream, with the type of characters he wants to portray. And for Aishwarya it was a Choker Bali: A Passion Play (2003) or a Raincoat (2004). I could see that even she was attempting to take up different kind of stuff."