Ashutosh Gowariker had offered Swades to Hrithik first. However, Hrithik rejected his offer and the role was finally finely executed by Shah Rukh. Ashutosh however wasn’t bogged down by Hrithik’s previous rejection. As soon as he thought of casting an Akbar for his film… tall, athletic, good looking he only thought of our Roshan junior and this time around Hrithik accepted the role. However, not all has been hunky dory between the two was the news doing the rounds for the past few weeks. Hrithik hurt his knee while shooting for the film. The sword-fighting, elephant rides, wearing the heavy armour and accessories took a toll on his health. The good two years that the film took for its completion had also apparently annoyed the star. We brought up the issue in front of Sunita Gowariker and she completely denied the rumours. “Yes, it’s true that Hrithik was offered Swades which he chose not to do as he couldn’t see himself playing Mohan Bhargav. He found it difficult to associate himself with the character he was to portray. However, when the film got made, we showed it to him and he expressed his regrets for not doing the film. He thought he had made a mistake. But that’s past. As far as Jodhaa Akbar is concerned, Ashu and Hrithik have no issues against each other. In fact in the course of the film’s shoot, Hrithik hurt his knee, Ashu his back and me my pocket! I have spent a lot on this film”, joked Sunita