17 Years of 'Dil Se': 10 lesser known facts about the Mani Ratnam's cl

It has been 17 years since Mani Ratnam's romantic-thriller released. 'Dil Se' starring Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala had a backdrop of terrorism and insurgency, beautifully weaved into a tragic love story. The intense political agenda of the film, the love story and the fact that it coincided with the 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations became a major factor for its success.

After 'Roja' and 'Bombay', 'Dil Se' completed the trilogy of Mani Ratnam's terror-drama. Here are 10 facts you probably did not know about the critically acclaimed movie.

1) Mani Ratnam had the inspiration for the movie from a Sufi song called 'Thayya Thayya' (which is available in the soundtracks.) The two lovers are said to share the relation of God and devotee.

2)'Dil Se' is said to be a journey through the 7 shades of love that are defined in ancient Arabic literature. Those shades are defined as attraction, infatuation, love, reverence, worship, obsession, and death. The character played by Shahrukh Khan passes through each shade during the course of the film.

3) The film's first song, 'Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya', is also the opening song of the Hollywood movie 'Inside Man' starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen.

4) Shah Rukh Khan did not use a safety harness while the filming the sequence aboard the moving train for the song 'Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya'.

5) For the song 'Jiya Jale, Jaan Chale' singer Lata Mangeshkar had some problems singing in the higher octaves due to her age, so composer A.R. Rahman kept her voice as low as possible.

6) Kajol was the first choice for Manisha's role but she refused the role due to date issues.

7) Some of the parade scenes were shot during the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of India's independence.

8) The film was previously titled 'Ladakh - Ek Prem Kahani'.

9) Partho Gosh was directing a film titled 'Chaiyan Chaiyan' with Fardeen Khan and Preity Zinta that he ended up shelving.

10) Shilpa Shirodkar was signed for the 'Chaiya Chaiya' song with Shahrukh Khan. Mani Ratnam was unhappy with Shilpa's weight problem and dropped her from the song.