Celebrating 22 years
of DDLJ and here is 22 amazing facts about the movie
In its 22 years of
existence, everything has been said about this movie – and yet, nothing
anyone has ever said is enough to do it justice. But if there is something
that has come close to putting into words what DDLJ means to
many of us, it’s this beautifully cut documentary that the YRF team has just
released. In it, everyone from the cast and the crew – I’m talking Shah
Rukh Khan, Kajol, Anupam Kher, Karan Johar, Uday Chopra, Saroj Khan, Farah
Khan etc – shares their experience of working on this film. And along
the way, they revealed a number of amazing facts and trivia that we just didn’t
know about the movie before!
Here’s a compiled list of 22 of the most amazing facts
about DDLJ:
1. Everyone thought
Shah Rukh Khan would love the script of Dilwale Dulhania Le
Jayenge and would agree to do it. However, he initially said
no! He liked the script but didn’t want to do a romantic film. He
thought he was too old (he entered films at 26) and not “typically”
good-looking enough to pull it off. But he eventually accepted the role
because of his “faith in Adi and Yashji” and because Yash Chopra told
him he’d never be a big star if he didn’t do a romantic film.
2. Shah Rukh thought
the character of Raj was a pansy! His exact words (back in 1995) were, “It’s
a role of a wimp. I feel like a wimp. I feel like a pansy.”
3. Shah Rukh Khan
insisted on a little action/violence in the film, even though Aditya
Chopra and Yash Chopra weren’t fans of action sequences. SRK, it
seems, used to say that DDLJ was a hit because of the
inclusion of bloodshed in the film, however little!
4. After watching the film, Shah Rukh Khan told Yash Chopra that
this film is his Deewar – the one that’s going to make him.
5. The film ran into a
spot of trouble while shooting the song Tujhe Dekha Toh Yeh Jaana
Sanam in Haryana. They apparently had permission from the Panchayat to
shoot on that little plot of land, but the local residents didn’t think that
was enough and literally asked, “how dare you do this on our land?” Shah
Rukh eventually intervened and spoke in his Haryanvi accent, and while all the
discussions were happening, they quickly set up the shot.
6. The classic “aao,
aao” scene with SRK and Amrish Puri feeding
pigeons is apparently completely impromptu.
7. The dance steps with
the table cloth in Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane was done in one take –
Shah Rukh got it right the first time!
8. Shah Rukh says that before he did the film,
he didn’t really think he was like Raj. However, over the course of shooting,
he discovered that he was very similar to Raj. His exact words are, “I
think 90% of the character of Raj is like me. So ya, if girls think they can’t
find Raj, they can always call me.” I’ve died, I think.
9. Kajol was very
hesitant about doing Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye because she
didn’t like the idea of wearing a towel throughout the whole song. “I was
like, Adi, what is this shit? You’re giving me a towel in the whole entire
song? What is that crap, I’m not that kind of [actress].” But they assured
her they would handle it tastefully, and she was pleased with the end result.
10. Kajol’s iconic
white skirt in Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye was cut on set. Manish
Malhotra and his team cut it because Adi Chopra thought it was
initially too long. It eventually became quite a bit shorter than they
expected, but they went with it!
11. Kajol and Shah
Rukh had a lot of trouble shooting the scene where they wake up in
bed together. According to Kajol, Adi Chopra thought it would be a steamy scene
when he wrote it, but, in fact, she and SRK couldn’t stop laughing! They were
in splits the entire time and needed several takes to get it right. “The
anticipation of this scene makes us laugh,” SRK had said, “It’s the
sound of the zip!”
12. Aditya Chopra wrote DDLJ in the span of 3 to 4 weeks. Karan
Johar revealed that every day, Adi would discuss the film
and its core concept with him and ask for his input – but mostly, he had the
film sorted in his head and was able to write it quickly.
13. The team didn’t
actually think that they had created something amazing (I know, WTF, right?).
Kajol thought the movie was “same old, same old,” and that it was a nice movie
without anything new or different about it. Adi Chopra even said back
then, “My film is not different. I’m making the most commercial, cliche movie
ever made. I’m making the oldest story in the book.” There was even a
discussion (in good humor) about how trade journalists would react to his
direction, and all he said was, “As long as the taporis clap when the song
comes, I’m happy.”
14. Almost everyone on
sets – including experienced people like Yash Chopra and Saroj
Khan – had ideas about how things should be done, but Aditya Chopra
stuck to his guns and executed the film the way he wanted to (for example, he
insisted on making Kajol wear a satin sari instead of a chiffon one, much to
Yashji’s dismay). Eventually, Sarojji went to the Chopra home
and told Adi he was right and she was wrong.
15. Anupam Kher
actually asked Aditya Chopra why he gave the bigger role to Amrish
Puri, saying he wanted to play it instead. Adi said no
(clearly).
16. According to Pamela
Chopra, Anupam Kher’s character was actually based on Yashji –
she say he was that kind of parent to his boys, preferring to be their friend
instead of their dad.
17. DDLJ was
Karan Johar’s training ground. “I never went to film school. I never
assisted on anything else. My only training ground to becoming a film director
was DDLJ.”
18. Anaita Shroff Adajania probably had her
first stylist moment on the sets of this film – she wasn’t a stylist back then,
but while shooting the swimming pool sequence, she thought that Kajol’s
swimsuit needed an extra layer. The only option available was Sarojji‘s
dupatta – so they took that and wrapped it around Kajol to complete her
look. Oh, and that dupatta ended up tearing!
19. Uday
Chopra and Karan Johar cut the making of DDLJ. They
were locked in an edit room for days getting this done, and Karan said he
felt like they were making their own film. They then got a slot from
Doordarshan and aired the making of the film on TV – a first for Indian cinema.
20. Farah
Khan only choreographed the song Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane,
because she couldn’t go to Europe to be with the team and choreograph the other
songs. Why? Her schedule was already booked by Nana Patekar!
21. Aditya chopra
wanted to cast Tom cruise instead of
Shahrukh but the budget would get higher. So he dropped the idea of casting Tom
Cruise.
22. Aditya chopra went
to Saif ali Khan also for the role
of Raj but he denied then his Father great Director Mr. Yash Chopra suggested
him to cast Shahrukh Khan because he know him from the movie Darr
If you have also some
amazing facts then go ahead and share with us
