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Aditya Chopra Birthday: When filmmaker had hard time convincing Shah Rukh Khan to play lead in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Filmmaker Aditya Chopra is celebrating his 53rd birthday today, May 21. Here's a throwback to when he struggled to convince Shah Rukh Khan to play the lead in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.
India's one of the most successful and biggest filmmakers, Aditya Chopra, turns 53 today, May 21. The YRF head honcho has directed some of the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Mohabbatein, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and has also backed record-breaking films like Ek Tha Tiger, War, Pathaan, Dhoom 3 and more.
Aditya has had an iconic duo with Shah Rukh Khan, as the superstar has always been a part of some of his biggest films. But do you know Aditya, who is the son of legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra, had a hard time convincing SRK for his directorial debut DDLJ, which later proved to be a cult classic?
When Aditya Chopra chased Shah Rukh Khan for weeks to be a part of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
In the Netflix release The Romantics, Aditya Chopra recalled the time before he started shooting for Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Aditya had assisted his father, Yash Chopra, in his film Darr, starring Sunny Deol, Juhi Chawla, and Shah Rukh Khan. He and SRK became close friends on the sets of the 1993 film, and Aditya was so impressed by him that he wanted him to play a lead in his directorial debut. Khan, who was a newcomer at that time, was excited too, as he thought that Adi would make an action film with him.
However, when Chopra came with Karan Johar (Adi's assistant director at that time) to narrate DDLJ to him, Shah Rukh Khan wasn't impressed. According to SRK, 'it just wasn't the film I wanted to hear," while adding that Aditya would always tell him that his eyes have something that can't be just wasted on action."
While SRK wasn't impressed with the subject and genre, he didn't know how to say No. As a result, Aditya kept going to his sets for two months to convince him. A point came when the filmmaker felt he was at the edge of his patience. He recalled being on the sets of Khan's film Trimurti, where an old female fan of the star told him that she didn't like that he died in all his films.
How Shah Rukh Khan got convinced to do DDLJ
Aditya shared that 15 minutes after the conversation between Shah Rukh and his fan, he told him it was fine if he didn't want to do the film but never shut your doors on 'love stories.'
"Because in this country, a superstar will only be that person who will be every mother's son, every sister's brother, every college girl's fantasy. And what you just heard that woman say was that there's a lot of love that she is giving you. But there's a different persona that she sees and she's not getting."
Aditya said that the next time they met, Shah Rukh Khan gave his approval to the film. And the rest we know is history!
Aditya Chopra's vision
Aditya Chopra recalled when Yash Chopra told him, "you are ready to direct." He replied that he'd direct the day "you are able to put 100% money into the film." When the late filmmaker didn't understand what he said, Aditya explained that he didn't want anyone else to own anything he created.
"It's so strange, but that one decision actually changed us. Because just imagine sharing 50% of DDLJ's revenues. I don't think we'd be where we are today," he concluded.
Pinkvilla wishes Aditya Chopra a very Happy Birthday!
ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Aditya Chopra to announce SRK’s film on Yash Chopra’s birthday?
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