Did You Know: 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' Was Originally Planned With Tom Cruise, Not Shah Rukh Khan
Did you know that Shah Rukh Khan was not the first choice for the classic 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'?
'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' is one of the most iconic romantic-comedies to come out of Bollywood and the Hindi film enjoys a cult status in the country. The film proved to be a turning point in the careers of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, and the film established SRK as the true 'king of romance'. 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', fondly known as 'DDLJ' marked the directorial debut of Aditya Chopra. But did you know that Shah Rukh Khan was not the first choice for the uber-popular Hindi movie? Yes, you read that right! Aditya Chopra initially wanted to cast Tom Cruise, but Yash Chopra persuaded his son to not go for Hollywood actors.
In the book, 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: The Making of a Blockbuster', author and film critic Anupama Chopra stated how Aditya imagined 'DDLJ' to be a love story between an American boy and an Indian girl. This is the main reason that he wanted Tom Cruise in the lead role.
However, his father, filmmaker Yash Chopra, asked him to rework the story and make the characters non-resident Indians (NRIs).
Kajol, who played Simran in 'DDLJ', also confirmed that Aditya Chopra initially wanted to cast Tom Cruise, in the role of Raj, which was eventually played by King Khan.
"He did want Tom Cruise in the film initially. It was on his wishlist. Every director has a wishlist where you put up actors whom you want and then after that, you come back to earth, Acha theek hai normal apne desh ke hero ko lete hain?" Kajol told Mid-Day.
When Kajol was asked to imagine herself romancing Tom Cruise in 'DDLJ', she brushed off the idea, saying, "If it had been Tom Cruise, it would have been Meg Ryan on the other side."
For the unversed, 'DDLJ' is a love story with Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) and Simran (Kajol) as the protagonists. It’s the story of two Indians meeting on a vacation in Europe and how they end up falling in love. The duo then wish to get married but they end up facing opposition from Simran's father (Amrish Puri).
The film also stars Mandira Bedi, Parmeet Sethi, Satish Shah, Anupam Kher, Farida Jalal, Pooja Ruparel, and others.
