Romantic flashback

By the director’s own admission in a book on the making of the film, he had originally thought of DDLJ as an English film starring Hollywood actor Tom Cruise! He had shared the story with his mother Pam Chopra who gave it her seal of approval. It was when they were stuck for an idea that he pitched the story to his father who liked it too and the rest as they say, is history.

Hero No 1

Aditya Chopra, it would appear, thought of casting Shah Rukh Khan as the hero of the film instead of Aamir or Salman Khan as the duo had already been part of two popular love stories namely Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Maine Pyaar Kiya. Shah Rukh Khan, on the other hand had played negative roles in Baazigar and Darr and would bring in an element of surprise for the audience. He narrated the story to Khan who liked the script, but did not say a yes. Chopra then thought of approaching Saif Ali Khan for the role, but as it turned out, Khan eventually agreed to act in the film, immortalising and claiming Raj as his very own for decades to come.

Lead Pair

ShahRukh Khan, was endorsed as the most hardworking co-star ever by Kajol. He in turn returned the compliment by calling her lovely, charming and a brilliant friend and co-star. They rekindled their camraderie effortlessly with much laughter and joie-de-vivre. Kajol, given her foot injury stepped the stage with a crutch, but looking resplendent. The two enacted a few memorable scenes from the film. And while Kajol got a little mixed up with her lines, Khan was bang on, even giving her cues, recreating the on-screen romance once again.

Livewire Alert

Kajol, the leading lady of the film confessed that she was nothing like Simran in real life. She confessed that as a young girl, she would speak her mind to her parents. So, she never really understood Simran’s fear of her parents, adding that it was very difficult for her to act coy and in fact, it was Aditya Chopra who had to demonstrate how to blush to the actress! Khan jokingly maintained that Kajol kept laughing through her scenes, making faces something even Chopra could not rein in!

Past Baggage

Looking dapper in black, Shah Rukh Khan walked in with a haversack like the one he had carried in the film and pulled out some of the memorabilia from the film like the mandolin that Raj plays, a miniature cow bell, a jacket that SRK had worn in the film belonging to Aditya Chopra and of course, the book, which he said gave some interesting insights into the director’s vision. The name Raj, Khan revealed was a tribute to none other than showman Raj Kapoor, whom the young director is a huge fan of. And the mandolin, we were told, was an instrument that was often used in the music of Raj Kapoor’s films.

Foodie Central

When asked by a food blogger about their travel and food experience, Kajol recalled that the Eurorail would glide so smoothly that sometimes you were barely aware that it was in motion! As for food, both confessed that the Chopras always ensured that everybody on the sets was well looked after in general and well-fed in particular at all times. Even in the midst of shooting intense scenes, Chopra Sr would ask Khan, ‘parathe khayega’?! No matter what, good food according to Khan was the way to an actor’s heart!
Kajol also mentioned that on the film set even heroines were expected to join in for a hearty meal and not stick to diets.

Laugh out Loud

Khan related a particularly funny episode while shooting the scene wherein a drunk Simran spends the night with Raj. Khan who is shown to pull a prank on Kajol had to unzip his jacket to show her kiss marks to suggest an amorous night!. It was an intense scene, but according to the actors, the zip kept making a funny noise sending them into peals of laughter much to the director’s exasperation. Needless to say, each time they recounted the incident, they broke into fits of laughter.

What’s in a Name

Kajol, it would appear did not think much of the title as it was way too long. According to her, at that time shorter titles were the trend and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge seemed like quite a mouthful. However, in the bargain, they started the trend of using acronyms like DDLJ for film names.

Secret Songstress

Pam Chopra who kept everything well organised and running like clockwork precision even sang a song, Ghar aaja pardesi (along with Manpreet Kaur) in the film and sang it so well that Jatin- Lalit even retained it. The song was originally meant to be sung by Lata Mangeshkar. At the event, Shah Rukh Khan pretend -played the mandolin accompanying her while singing the famous Tujhe dekha toh ye jaana sanam...