Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is not only the longest running Hindi film but also one of the most loved movies of its time. The film reinstated Shah Rukh Khan as the next superstar. However, the actor wasn’t impressed with the film when it was first offered to him. His revelation during the launch of author Samar Khan’s book, ‘Shah Rukh Khan – 25 Years Of A Life’ took everyone by surprise.
When it was pointed out to SRK that he didn’t believe in DDLJ, he said, “Not at all. I found it very insipid. I don’t understand romance. But it’s not important whether I believe in it or not as long as people believe in it. I didn’t understand it at all.” Interestingly, in the book Aditya Chopra, director of DDLJ, said that he and Yash Chopra too weren’t impressed with SRK initially when they cast him in Darr.
The actor also went onto reveal that he didn’t understand his iconic lines from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai either. He said, “To say a line, ‘Hum ek baar jeete hain, ek baar marte hain. Pyar bhi ek baar hota hai aur shaadi bhi ek baar hoti hai. Tum nahin samjogi Anjali kuch kuch hota hai.’ What does this mean? If I was to sit down with a young lady now and take her out for a date and said such lines, she would think I am a fool.”
SRK went nostalgic thinking about his earlier days in Mumbai when he neither had the money, nor a house. He said that when he came to Mumbai for the first time to do TV, he had no house. Director Kundan Shah accommodated him in his office. “When I got married, I had no house. Aziz Mirza gave me his home. Later, when he faced issues, he started staying with me. I am saying this because these are not filmmakers; they are my life makers.”