The Romantics, a series on the history of Yash Raj Films (YRF) and which looks at the memorable films made by Yash Chopra and Aditya Chopra, was released today on Netflix. The show is much awaited as it features probably the first-ever video interview of YRF head, Aditya Chopra. The shy and reclusive filmmaker appears from the second episode and narrates how he convinced Shah Rukh Khan to act in his debut directorial, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995).
The Romantics: “I told Shah Rukh Khan, ‘In this country, a superstar will only be that person who will be every mother’s son, every sister’s brother and every college girl’s fantasy’” – Aditya Chopra
Shah Rukh Khan also spoke about this time when he had worked on Darr (1993), made by Aditya’s father Yash Chopra and featured him in a negative role. He had expected that Aditya Chopra would make an action film with him. Aditya had even told him about an action idea, which SRK had loved. Hence, Shah Rukh Khan was stunned when Aditya Chopra narrated Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to him!
Shah Rukh Khan remarked, “When we talked, we only talked action films…that there will be blood coming out and fighting and everything. And they (Aditya Chopra and his then assistant, Karan Johar) narrated this really sweet, namby-pamby film to me, about this guy who doesn’t even run away with the girl!” (laughs)
Shah Rukh made it clear that he liked the story but he was still shocked as it was not something he expected. SRK at this point revealed, “Adi used to tell me, ‘Your eyes have something that cannot be just wasted on action’.”
Aditya Chopra didn’t give up. He kept on meeting Shah Rukh Khan on different film sets. He narrated an episode from the set of the film Trimurti (1995). An old lady in her 80s approached Shah Rukh. Aditya said, “She told him, ‘Beta, tu bahut accha hai. Itna accha kaam karta hai. Par tu har film mein marta hai aur har film mein khoon hota hai. Mujhe accha nahin lagta’”.
Aditya Chopra then said, “15 minutes later, I walked upto Shah Rukh and told him, ‘I feel you are hesitant to say no. You might choose not to do this which is completely fine. But I would just advise you not to shut your doors on never doing a love story. Because in this country, a superstar will only be that person who will be every mother’s son, every sister’s brother and every college girl’s fantasy’.”
The rest is history. Shah Rukh Khan signed Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. The film became an all-time blockbuster and more than 27 years later, it is still running in cinemas. And even today, Shah Rukh Khan is known for being a romantic hero.
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