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EXCLUSIVE: Delnaaz Irani on 14 Years of Kal Ho Naa Ho- When I met Shah Rukh Khan, I still remember I was ice cold
Delnaaz Irani recalls her first meet with Shah Rukh Khan on the 14th anniversary of Kal Ho Naa Ho.
Karan Johar's Kal Ho Naa Ho has over the years become an emotion. The movie starring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan continues to strike a chord with the audience in a way that no other film did. From Sweetu to Frankie, every character in the film has managed to hold our attention.
One of the most remembered characters has to be Sweetu which was played by Delnaaz Irani. Delnaaz who made her Hindi debut with Kal Ho Naa Ho speaks to Pinkvilla exclusively on the 14th anniversary of the film and how was it shooting for the film, her camaraderie with her co-stars and her first meet with Shah Rukh Khan.
"I think I was very excited first and foremost when I got a call from Dharma Productions," she began as she recalls her reaction when she was offered KHNH. Going further she added, "I was a part of the TV industry for many years but to get a call from Dharma was shocking. I gave my auditions and then they were very clear that they have found their Sweetu and then the journey happened which was really beautiful. We went to New York for the shoot. All through the film, I knew it was going to be a super rocking film and everyone was going to appreciate it. I was surrounded by such good people. I was kind of a new member in the film fraternity and with legends like Shah Rukh Khan, Jaya Bachchan ji, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and Dara Singh ji, I thought I am the youngest one there. I observed everyone carefully as to how were they doing their scenes."
Speaking about how her TV experience helped her ace Sweetu's role, Delnaaz said, "For the role of Sweetu, my TV experience helped me a lot. The way we sync sound in TV, it was not done in films earlier. It was introduced to film just around the time when KHNH happened so my TV experience helped me a lot as most of the scenes in Kal Ho Naa Ho, we did not dub until it was really essential. Also, Sweetu was a kind of character which needed a lot of good comic timing so my experience on TV helped me get into the skin of the character."
She further spoke about how her director helped her a lot during the scenes and her costumes which became a rage. "My director Nikkhil Advani also helped me a lot and then, of course, I remember I was styled by Manish Malhotra and till date people remember Sweetu's skirt, her jackets. I really can't thank everybody enough, even my producer (Yash Johar) who is no more today, but he was such a great person, he was so humble. He never made anybody feel that there is a difference between a Shah Rukh Khan or a supporting actor. Everybody was treated equally with so much love and respect," she added.
Revealing her favourite scene from the movie, Delnaaz said, "All the scenes of Sweetu are wonderful but I really love the very first scene of mine which was a full combination scene. We had Shah Rukh's entry in that and then Frankie was standing somewhere and then there were Preity and me. I really love the dialogue where she is giving me some lecture on guys. The scene was beautifully shot where everything happens simultaneously."
Speaking about her first meet with Shah Rukh Khan, Delnaaz recalled, "Karan Johar, who is such a wonderful person, introduced me to Shah Rukh. When I met him, I still remember I was ice cold, I was just staring and glaring at him."
She further added, "With Saif, it was like Ok, very friendly kind of a camaraderie. We had a fun time in between scenes. However, we ladies were like a gang who went shopping and all together. We used to have dinners together."
Elaborating about her camaraderie with Preity, Delnaaz said, "With Preity, I had a superb camaraderie. Till today, as and when we message, we have a very friendly rapport. She was really very helpful, she is a very good soul and nice person to work with. I think my chemistry with Preity was so good. If you see the scene, it looks like we are really best friends. It is because we were comfortable with each other, we used to rehearse scenes together. There were so many scenes where there was time constraint because we were shooting on the streets of New York and Preity and I used to go with the flow. "
When asked if she would like to be a part of Kal Ho Naa Ho remake if at all it is made and Delnaaz replied, "I would love to be but I think a movie as good as Kal Ho Na Ho shouldn't be remade. The beauty of the original should be intact."
We think Delnaaz completed nailed the character of Sweetu, what about you?
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