The Romantics was released on Netflix nearly two weeks ago but it continues to make news. The series has been loved for giving a history of Yash Raj Films (YRF), the bytes of several prominent actors like Shah Rukh Khan, late Rishi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla etc and above all, Aditya Chopra. The YRF head honcho appeared in front of the camera for the first time and it added to the curiosity value of the show.
The Romantics: In the first draft of Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Amrish Puri’s character used to wear a dhoti and turban in London; was cheated by his cousin and had left Punjab after floods destroyed his farm
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) is a landmark film in the YRF filmography and even after more than 27 years, it continues to run at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir. It was Aditya Chopra’s directorial debut and for a few seconds, the first draft of the first scene of the film has been shown in The Romantics. And interestingly, it gave an idea about the backstory of Chaudhary Baldev Singh. Also, it shows that this character, which was essayed to perfection by Amrish Puri, was different from what was seen in the film.
As per the first draft of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge as seen in The Romantics, Amrish Puri wears a white dhoti and kurta along with a turban while he’s feeding pigeons at London’s Trafalgar Square. The dream sequence of him being in a field in Punjab starts immediately.
Then a commentary is played that explains his back story. Chaudhary Baldev Singh was originally a farmer in Punjab and he arrived in England after his farm was destroyed in floods. This is the time when his wife Lajjo (Farida Jalal) was pregnant with Simran (Kajol). Baldev Singh took this risk of shifting to another country at the recommendation of his cousin, who was already settled in London. Sadly, for Chaudhary Baldev Singh, the cousin cheated him and left him. With no other option, he opened a small grocery store and the script mentions that ‘he refuses to socialize with anybody…Time has not changed him and he insists on wearing the same clothes he wore twenty years ago. He does not bother if other people look strangely at him’.
In the final cut, however, several changes were made with regards to Chaudhary Baldev Singh’s character. To begin with, he was shown to have adapted to the English way of living. His attire comprised a shirt, waistcoat and coat. The entire back story of floods and the cheating cousin was chucked out of the script. The Punjab dream sequence starts after the character speaks about himself in a voiceover. What remained similar is his habit of feeding pigeons and the desire to head back to his home state, Punjab.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge starred Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the lead. It was a tale of two Indian-origin, foreign-born lovers who meet during a Europe trip and fall for each other. The girl, however, is unable to continue the relationship as her father has planned her marriage to his childhood friend’s son in Punjab. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Also Read: Kajol speaks on Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge remake; says the audience will “always be disappointed”
More Pages: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge Box Office Collection
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