DDLJ Broadway Adaptation: Netizens weren't convinced about Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge's Broadway adaptation even initially. But, they somehow accepted it. However, when the cast was announced, some cringed a bit more. They cannot imagine anyone else but Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol playing the iconic characters. Actor Austin Colby has been announced to play SRK's Raj in the show.
He took to social media to share the announcement. “A few months ago, I had never heard of the film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) or known of it’s global impact. I am in awe of this beautiful love story, celebrating Bollywood film at it’s finest. And now, to have workshopped Come Fall In Love - The DDLJ Musical under the original director, Aditya Chopra, and trusted with the role of Raj (now Rog) to bring Bollywood to Broadway as a reimagined, inclusive cultural experience will undoubtedly be the greatest honor of my career," he wrote in the caption.
Talking about the adaptation, filmmaker Aditya Chopra said, “26 years later I’m going back to my original vision of the story of DDLJ, a love story of an American boy and an Indian girl, a love story of two cultures… two worlds. But this time the medium is not cinema but theatre. 26 years later I will be directing DDLJ all over again but this time as an English language Broadway musical for a worldwide audience.
I’m terribly nervous and incredibly excited. I’m a hardcore cinema guy, I have never done theatre in my life and here I am trying to pull off the craziest ambition of my life. But what is giving me confidence is the fantastic team that I have. Each one of them are masters of their field and their brilliance and expertise is going to make this a fantastic show.
See you on stage in Autumn 2022 with ‘Come Fall In Love – The DDLJ Musical,”
Interestingly, Aditya Chopra initially conceptualised DDLJ with a white man in the lead. He had revealed in an interview years ago that he initially wanted to make Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge with Hollywood star Tom Cruise.
However, twitterati aren't convinced with the casting. They took to social media to share their displeasure. Sample some of these tweets:
Titled, 'Come...Fall In Love - The DDLJ Musical', the Broadway musical will be backed by Yash Raj Films. The project will bring Indian and American teams together to paint the tale of love on the broad canvas that theatre is. The production house has roped in music composer duo Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani to piece together the music of the film while the choreography for the ambitious project will be done by Rob Ashford. Derek McLane will take care of set design.
The musical will be on stage in the Broadway season of 2022 - 2023 with its world premiere at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego in September 2022. The film which released on October 20 1995, had propelled its lead stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol to super stardom.
