20 Years of DDLJ: Why Shah Rukh Khan almost refused playing Raj!

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge has now become an institution of its own, claims Karan Johar. Rightly so. The film is now being taught at international film schools as one of the subjects. 20 years and still the longest running Indian film, DDLJ would not be the same without our Raj, our Simran, our Bauji, our Pops, our Chhutki and the innocence, the purity of the story. But did you know that Shah Rukh Khan was initially apprehensive about signing the film. 

In the recently released hour long documentary, YRF celebrates the flavour and essence of DDLJ and makes the audience fall in love. All over again. But there are little secrets that the cast of the film reveals which no one knew. SRK didn't want to play the romantic hero at all. Ironically, post DDLJ, SRK's been stamped the best romantic hero of the last two decades. Ask him and he smiles, "I didn't want to play Raj. I felt Adi is making me play this pansy, girly character and I didn't like it in the beginning."

He recalls, "After they narrated the script to me, I felt these are two strange, weird people narrating the strangest script to me because I never saw myself doing out and out romance on screen. But I guess that strangeness worked in favour of the film." It was Yash Chopra, who had already cast SRK in Darr and maintained a fabulous relation who got him on board. SRK did, only on one condition. He asked Adi to incorporate the fight sequence towards the end. 

Uday laughs it off, "Shah Rukh was doing edgy characters before DDLJ happened. He didn't want to explore this space and that worked the best for the film. There was an inherent newness that Shah Rukh brought in the character and Adi knew that nobody but Shah Rukh only can be his Raj."

In real life, is he like Raj? SRK refutes, "Not at all. I am not like him at all. Most of my actresses tell me that you have spoiled romance for us because we are always looking for our Raj and we never found him." But SRK believes the core reason why the film connected so well is its novelty and intentions. "The biggest reason why people loved the film is because there's a Raj and Simran among all of us. Yet we are not Raj and Simran," SRK signs off, flashing that adorable smile.