When one thinks about Shah Rukh Khan and his legacy, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge pops into the mind at a stroke. Directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by Yash Chopra, the romantic drama is, hands down, among the favourites of every movie aficionado. DDLJ completed 28 years on October 20 and Raj-Simran remains to be the most iconic pair of the Hindi cinema. But, do you know SRK had rejected the film script not once but more than thrice? Yes, you read it right.
In the Netflix documentary The Romantics, Aditya Chopra revealed that Shah Rukh Khan wanted to be an action hero back then. In the same documentary, SRK recalled that he was anticipating the filmmaker to offer him an action film as his Darr with Yash Chopra was a massive hit.
When Shah Rukh Khan said NO to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
SRK had said, "I never wanted to do a romantic role. Because by the time I joined films, I was 26. Normally, romantic films meant that you started off from college and then you work your way up into romance and then run away with a girl or committed suicide with a girl. I thought I was too old to be a romantic hero.”
Aditya Chopra also revealed that it took him more than thrice to convince SRK to get on board with DDLJ. Recalling the time, Chopra shared an anecdote and said an 80-year-old woman came to meet SRK on the sets of Trimurti. She expressed her sadness over the star fighting in every film and eventually dying. Later, Chopra advised SRK to not shut his doors for a love story.
Following the advice, Shah Rukh Khan finally said yes to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. For the Gen Zs who don't know, DDLJ was the second highest-grossing Indian film of the 1990s after Hum Aapke Hain Koun!
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