Apparently, Karishma was supposed to get less screentime than she did, but Yash Chopra was so impressed with her performance that he gave her a meatier role than originally planned. Still, I don't think the main focus was about their friendship because the message of the film was clearly about finding 'the one'.
Edited by DriftInfinitely - 2 years agoI find the film actually was about friendship between SRK-Karishma more than romance between SRK-Madhuri.
I feel Yash Chopra chopped off many scenes between SRK and Madhuri and focused on SRK's relation with Karishma in the film.
I remember at the time these rumours were there. In early 1997 during filming, Karisma had won the Best Actress award, and she had 4-5 Big Hit Films under her belt in the space of a year. At the same time, Madhuri unfortunately had a disastrous 1996. (DTPH began shooting in 1995 when Madhuri was on a mega high).
The rumours were that Yash-ji gave Karisma some extra scenes, and re-shot parts of the film with her in it. Did they re-do Le Gayi?? I did hear that but can't remember the sauce.
It's cute how everyone roots for the underdog: Karisma in DTPH, Rani in KKHH. A minority of fans wish SRK chose them instead of Madhuri + Kajol
But to answer your question: No. The film wasn't about Karisma's friendship. It was all about Maya "Mera Naam POOJA Hai" Dixit ❤️