Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol starrer ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ released in 1995, has not only reshaped the landscape of Indian cinema but also became a cultural phenomenon. From Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol's on-screen chemistry to the dialogues and songs, everything about the film has stood the test of time. Every movie buff in the country might have watched the film at least twice, if not more, in their lifetime.
Even the history of Hindi cinema is incomplete without DDLJ. But did you know that the film was initially planned with none other than Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise?
Yes, you read that right. The idea of casting Tom Cruise in a Bollywood film might seem outlandish today, however, Aditya Chopra had earlier envisioned ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ with Hollywood star Tom Cruise. It was his father, filmmaker Yash Chopra, who advised him to rework the story, leading to Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol being cast instead.
In the book, ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: The Making of a Blockbuster’, author-film critic Anupama Chopra talks about how Aditya Chopra had planned the film as a cross-cultural love story between an American boy and an Indian girl. Tom Cruise was the lead actor, however, later Yash Chopra intervened and cast SRK, and the rest is, well, history!
Kajol too confirmed the same, in an earlier interview with Midday. She revealed that the director wanted Tom Cruise, and 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. (Let's cast an actor of our country)'," she said.
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When Kajol was asked to imagine romancing Tom Cruise, she brushed off the idea and stated that If it had been Tom Cruise, it would have been Meg Ryan on the other side.