Farah Khan chose Nana Patekar film over 'DDLJ'
Farah Khan reveals she turned down 'DDLJ' for Nana Patekar film: Aditya Chopra was impressed
Farah Khan's choreography career took off unexpectedly when Saroj Khan didn't show up to shoot "Pehla Nasha" for the 1992 film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. In an interview with Radio Nasha, Farah shared a similar story about Aditya Chopra's 1995 cult romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ). Despite her initial hesitation, she ended up choreographing one iconic song for the film.
Turning down DDLJ initially
By the time DDLJ was being made, Farah had already established a rapport with Shah Rukh Khan, having worked with him on Kundan Shah's 1994 film Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. When Saroj Khan was late to the DDLJ set in Switzerland, Farah got an unexpected call from Shah Rukh and Aditya Chopra. They urgently needed her to fly to Switzerland to choreograph 2-3 songs. Farah, however, had already committed to choreographing for Nana Patekar's film Yeshwant (1997) and couldn't break her promise. She explained, “I didn't have a phone at home then. My neighbor got a call. It was Shah Rukh and Adi (Aditya Chopra) on the phone. Shah Rukh asked me, 'Farah, can you come to Switzerland tomorrow? Yash Raj Films will organize everything. We need you to do 2-3 songs.' I told them, ‘Sorry, my dates are with Nana Patekar. Day after tomorrow, I'm shooting with Nana and I can't ditch that because I've got a bigger film.’”
Finally choreographing for DDLJ
Farah admitted that the set for Yeshwant wasn’t impressive, but she had promised Nana Patekar to do the choreography. As a result, she couldn't work on the other DDLJ songs. However, after the DDLJ team returned, Aditya Chopra appreciated Farah’s dedication to her commitments. He admired that she didn’t abandon her prior engagement for a bigger opportunity. He then offered her the chance to choreograph the song "Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane." Farah explained, “Adi called me and said, ‘I really admire that you stuck to your commitment. Not everyone does that. The minute you get a bigger film, you dump the smaller one.’ He had just one song left and asked me to do it. It was Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane. I believe if you’ve given your word and don’t stay true to it, no one can trust you.”
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters of all time, and Farah Khan’s integrity and dedication to her commitments were recognized and admired in the industry.
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