Behind story of DDLJ: How the film was almost not made

Aditya Chopra narrates his plots in real screen time. The film runs in his head, frame by frame, and he describes what he sees, for more than three hours – the running time of the film. His passion is evident in his intensity.

Sometimes, in the emotional scenes, his stammer worsens. But his energy doesn’t flag.

For, DDLJ, he started something like this: "London. Pigeons fluttering across a grey overcast sky, the camera tracks down and you see a man dressed in a traditional Indian dress feeding the birds. Slowly a song starts..."

But Aditya’s ardour failed to enthuse the Yash Raj Films unit. Yash’s company follows certain traditions. One is that before a new film starts, the top crew is called home and given a detailed narration.

In May 1994, cinematographer Manmohan Singh, art director Sharmishtha Roy, dialogue writer Javed Siddiqui and family friend Deven Varma gathered in the Chopras’ gadda room (cushion room) to hear what Aditya had in mind. They weren’t impressed.

Manmohan didn’t like the first half. Plotwise, little happened.

Others thought there wasn’t enough intensity in the story – why does the boy follow the girl to India when he doesn’t even know if she loves him. The climax sounded too much like another successful film, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (The Heart Does Not Listen, 1991), in which the father encourages his daughter to run away from her own wedding and marry another man.

Aditya was devastated. He loved his story. He thought it was brilliant. He asked himself two questions: "Do you love this script? Will you be a film-maker who speaks his voice?" The answer to both questions was a resounding "Yes". Aditya decided to make DDLJ as he saw it.

The film was clear in his head. Aditya had never planned to write the film, but only create an outline before going to a writer. The story and characters had come in a rush. Sitting in his bedroom, at a long desk, which he and Uday shared, Aditya started working on an outline, writing in longhand.

A few years ago, he had studied at the same desk for his school exams. Sometimes he sat on the lawn. When Aditya was unsure of a scene or when he was too sure, he would use Pamela or Uday as bouncing boards. He also had story sessions with family friend and writer, Honey Irani. His writing was messy but legible. Aditya had the outline in 12 days.

Input also came from an unexpected quarter – Karan, the 22-year-old son of veteran producer Yash Johar. Karan and Aditya had known each other when they were children, but had since lost touch. Their parents were friends and colleagues. But Karan, more posh and resolutely snotty, didn’t like the Chopra brothers. "They spoke in Hindi about Hindi films and I was like, 'Please... how tacky.'"

But a common college friend, Anil Thadani, whose family was in film distribution, connected them again. Karan was a closet Bollywood buff. He had devoured the films of all the great Hindi movie directors and tracked box office collections since childhood. But he had never considered a career in films.

Instead, he had made vague plans of going to Paris for French studies. But Aditya spotted in Karan a sensibility for popular Hindi films. He encouraged it. Karan thought Aditya’s idea for his first film was fantastic. When Aditya started DDLJ, he asked Yash for two assistants – Karan and Uday.

Like Karan, Uday was also in denial. He had grown up nurturing a secret dream: he wanted to be an actor in Hindi films, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. Instead, he went to Los Angeles to do a five-week summer course in filmmaking at the University of Southern California. After that, he had plans to go to Boston to study business management.

Like Aditya, Uday had also assisted Yash on Lamhe and Darr but his heart wasn’t in it. He found assisting a chore and couldn’t wait till pack-up was announced. Uday had loved the DDLJ idea. He wasn’t sure why Aditya wanted him, but when Aditya called him in America, he was sure that he should be there. So he went back home after doing a little shopping.

Aditya asked Uday to bring him a leather jacket. He wanted a jacket that radiated modern, cutting-edge "cool", perhaps with an American flag or an eagle on it. His hero, Raj, would wear it throughout the film. Uday went to a Harley-Davidson store in Bakersfield, California, and picked up a plain black jacket for $400.

He then joined Yash in London, where he was scouting for locations in Southall. When he got back to Mumbai, he noticed a change in Aditya – there was now a sudden gravitas. "I felt the difference between us was no longer a year and a half but six or seven years. He was much older than I was. Much much older."

Also read: 19 reasons why we can still watch DDLJ