25 reasons to watch DDLJ again

1. Aditya Chopra initially wanted to cast Tom Cruise for the role of Raj Malhotra

2. Kirron Kher came up with the title Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. This is the first film in the history of Bollywood with a credit of ‘title suggested by’

3. The working title of the film was The Braveheart will take the Bride

4. Sooraj Barjatya watches DDLJ almost every week, and especially before starting a new film

5. Aditya Chopra always thought that he would make his debut with Mohabbatein, a story about three sets of lovers and a music teacher. He eventually made that one in 2000

6. SRK’s famous leather jacket was bought by Uday Chopra from a Harley- Davidson store in Bakersfield, California, for $4007 SRK initially refused the film because he regarded romances as ‘‘pansy stuff.’’ It took Adi four meetings to convince him8 In case SRK didn’t agree, Adi thought of approaching Saif Ali Khan

9. Initially, Armaan Kohli was supposed to play the role of Simran’s fiance, Kuljeet. Eventually, Parmeet Sethi got the role because he came for the screen test wearing boots, jeans and a waistcoat

10. Mere Khwaboon Mein Jo Aaye was the first song to be recorded. Aditya Chopra rejected 24 verses by Anand Bakshi before giving his nod to this one

11. It was Manish Malhotra’s idea to dress Kajol in a green outfit for Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna. Adi was against it since Punjabi brides traditionally wear red, maroon or pink

12. The famous Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam sequence amidst the yellow sarson flowers was shot in Gurgaon

13. Saroj Khan left the shooting in a huff after a disagreement with Aditya. SRK recommended Farah Khan, who choreographed Ruk Ja

14. In 2001, DDLJ broke the continuous exhibition record of the movie Sholay at Minerva theatre (5 years, 1975-1980)

15. Karan Johar assisted Aditya on the sets, while Uday (his younger brother) was also one of the assistants

16. Besides assisting Adi, Karan Johar also acted in the movie. He played ‘Pochy’, one of SRK’s friends

17. Adi named SRK ‘Raj’ after Raj Kapoor18 SRK’s full name in the movie is Rajnath, after Rishi Kapoor’s name in Bobby

19. In the scene in which Anupam Kher tells SRK about the (non) accomplishments of his forefathers in academics, he actually recited names of his real, not- so-academically successful uncles

20. The film was mired in two major controversies after its release. Honey Irani and Javed Siddiqui said that they hadn’t been given credit for screenplay and dialogues respectively

21. Adi’s screenplay specifies that Simran is a vegetarian while Raj is willing to eat even a beefburger

22. DDLJ was the first film to have a 30-minute television show on its making. The Making of DDLJ was telecast on Doordarshan

23. HMV’s executive director Harish Dayani estimates that one in three households in India owns the DDLJ soundtrack

24. Adi used to practice his camera angles with Karan Johar posing as Kajol and Uday Chopra as Farida Jalal

25. Mandira Bedi made her film debut with the film
Dus saal baadYash Raj Films recently reunited Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol for a photo shoot to bring in the 500 weeks celebration. While the lensman was setting the lights, Kajol was fretting. When SRK asked her the reason, she said, ‘‘Gosh, can you believe it, our movie is 10 years old. My God, we are getting old. Our kids are growing up. It’s so weird.’’ While trying to soothe her, SRK just couldn’t stop laughing. Raj Malhotra lives on.