Directed by the legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra, the 1993 romantic psychological thriller Darr starred Shah Rukh Khan as the antagonist Rahul and shaped up his career. The movie, which featured Juhi Chawla as the leading lady and Sunny Deol as the protagonist, went on to become a blockbuster.
It is a widely known fact that before Shah Rukh, several actors had rejected the role of the psychopath Rahul Mehra. These included Aamir Khan, Rahul Roy, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn, and Sudesh Berry. Also, Sunny's role of Sunil Malhotra was also refused by multiple actors such as Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff, and Nitish Bhardwaj. Even Juhi Chawla was not Yash Chopra's first choice for the role of Kiran Awasthi.
The filmmaker had first offered the film to Sridevi, whom he had previously directed in Chandni (1989) and Lamhe (1991). She wanted Yash Chopra to change the script and make Kiran as the obsessive lover, but the director refused. He had then considered Aishwarya Rai for Darr, who hadn't made her acting debut by then.
The famous costume designer Neeta Lulla revealed this fact in an interview with Bollywood Hungama last year as she stated, "I met Aishwarya for the first time in late Yash (Chopra) ji's office, where he was contemplating casting her for Darr. I don't think many people know this. So we did a look test of sorts and he called me and said let's do a look test with her. When I saw her, Yash ji and I discussed and we said she was beautiful. But he said maybe it won't work out because she is going for the Miss World Pageant and she went away and that happened." Aishwarya Rai went on to win the Miss World title for India in 1994 and made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam's Iruvar in 1997.
Before finalising Juhi Chawla, Yash Chopra also offered Darr to Madhuri Dixit, who refused the film due to unknown reasons. The 1993 release won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. It also starred Annu Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Tanvi Azmi, and Dalip Tahil in pivotal roles.
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