MUMBAI: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is the most iconic film made in the history of Indian Cinema. Think it’s a biased opinion? So be it! But the film that was released on October 20, 1995, holds a special place in the hearts of movie lovers, and Raj-Simran is indeed the most loved on-screen pair of Indian Cinema. However, what if we tell you that Shah Rukh Khan was not the original choice for the film?

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Well, many of you might have learned by heart almost every trivia in the book that belongs to DDLJ. You might even know that the film was written originally for Tom Cruise as Aditya Chopra wanted an Indo-American love story. You might also know that the Pathaan actor was not very keen to do the film.

However, what you might not know is that Shah Rukh Khan, rejected the film not once, not twice, but four times! Yes, you read that right. That was the amount of doubt in his mind to play a quintessential lover that he wanted to run away from the film as far as he could! But fate had other plans for him. Or let us say Yash Chopra had other plans for him.

SRK was happy doing the negative leads and was enjoying his position as the villain while his contemporaries Aamir Khan and Salman Khan had turned lover boys. So Aditya Chopra, who was suggested by his father to scrap the idea to cast Tom Cruise and go for an Indian actor, kept cajoling the Baazigar actor to do his film.

In the documentary made on the film, Shah Rukh Khan once revealed, “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.”

However, why did SRK caved in? Well, it was his father figure, Yash Chopra, who borderline threatened the actor to save his career with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. The filmmaker told his Darr protege, “You must take up romantic roles on the big screens if you want to survive in the industry.”

It was then that Shah Rukh Khan rested his trust in the filmmaker and his son, and the rest is history. Apart from the Jawan actor, there were others who rejected DDLJ. Salman Khan and Aamir Khan were also offered the film, but Aamir went with Rangeela that year, and Bhaijaan was considered for the film for a brief time. Before SRK, even Saif Ali Khan was considered for the film, which he rejected due to date issues.

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Armaan Kohli was offered the film, but Parmeet Sethi’s part. However, he wanted the lead role and thus rejected the opportunity. Milind Gunaji was offered to play Parmeet Sethi’s part, but he refused to shave and thus let it go.

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Credits - koimoi