Not Shah Rukh Khan but Tom Cruise was to play Raj to Kajol’s Simran in DDLJ!

The 1995 iconic romantic drama, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, is every movie buff’s favorite. The quintessential love story of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as Raj and Simran is still etched fresh in our minds. Right from its classic train scene to dramatic dialogues, everything about the film is highly loved by the audience, as the film continues to be screened every single day at Maratha Mandir, in Mumbai. 

The classic love story film completes 24 successful years today, and here’s a little trivia about the film, that is sure to blow your mind!

For every 90’s kid, the character Raj from DDLJ is a perfect lover boy who fights against all odds for his love and wins Simran’s family over with his charm. Shah Rukh Khan pulled off this character with perfection, as his romantic spell is tough to beat, and it's difficult for anyone to see any other actor instead of him playing ‘Raj’.

However, did you know, not Shah Rukh Khan but Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise for the first choice to play Raj in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge!

Yes, the director of the film, Aditya Chopra wanted to make the film an Indo-American affair, which led them to think of Tom Cruise as Raj. However, they also didn’t want to make any Hollywood hero a star in this film. Hence, the idea of getting Cruise for the film was scrapped. Interestingly, not just Tom Cruise but Bollywood’s Nawab, Saif Ali Khan was also considered to play the character. 

As the film clocks 24 years today, the leading lady of the film, Kajol, took to her social media to pay a special tribute to her character ‘Simran’ in the film. Sharing a video of herself, she wrote, “Still got the specs & still reading in weird places even after 24 years. #24YearsOfDDLJ”. 

Check out the post here: