Its been 20 years since Raj and Simran, portrayed aptly by Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, waltzed into our lives and changed everything. From teaching us the meaning of first love to how bade bade deshon mein chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hai! While you may think that as a super DDLJ fan you know everything about this iconic movie, let us give you 20 anecdotes on the movie's 20th anniversary that you probably never knew about!

No from the Nawab

Yeah, sit down while you read this. Saif Ali Khan was offered the role of Raj Malhotra but for unfathomable reasons, he turned it down.

Cruising towards Hollywood

Aditya Chopra also wanted to cast none other than Tom Cruise, but Yash Chopra advised him to cast an Indian face.

Guess who was the original Kuljeet?

Armaan Kohli was the first choice to play Kajol's character Simran's fiance, Kuljeet. But the part went to Parmeet Sethi because apparently he came dressed for the screen test in boots, jeans and a waistcoat. True to his character in the movie!

There was no Mehendi laga ke rakhna

The song was apparently kept for another Yash Raj movie but later they decided to use it in DDLJ. Can we even imagine DDLJ without mehendi laga ke rakhna? Gasp!

And that's not all...

In fact, Aditya Chopra wasn't in support of the now iconic green lehenga designed by Manish Malhotra that Kajol wore in the song because according to him punjabi brides wear colors like red, maroon or pink during their engagement.

Saroj Khan got replaced

Farah Khan got a big break when she replaced choreographer Saroj Khan at the last minute.

Guess who named the movie?

The title Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was the brainchild of Anupam Kher’s wife, Kirron Kher. She was even credited for it in the title.

SRK's signed poster

Aditya Chopra's office has a signed poster of DDLJ from Shah Rukh Khan thanking the director for making him a big star. It reads, 'Thank you for making me the star that I am today.'

Inspired much?

The much loved saree scene between SRK and Himani Shivpuri who played Simran's aunt in the movie, is actually inspired from the 1957 legal thriller, Witness For The Prosecution. A hat in the original was replaced by a saree in DDLJ.

More inspiration...

That hugely popular 'palat' scene was 'inspired' too, from the 1993 movie In The Line Of Fire. The movie came two years before DDLJ and Clint Eastwood had pulled it off before SRK did. We know, we know. It hurts.

The leather jacket

The iconic leather jacket that Raj Malhotra wore in the movie was found by Uday Chopra at a Harley-Davidson store in California for $400.

Karan Johar as Kajol?

In a bid to work on improving his camera angles, Aditya Chopra roped in Karan Johar and Uday Chopra to pose as Kajol and Farida Jalal, respectively. Cute.

From villain to hero

Shah Rukh Khan didn't want to portray the typical chocolate lover boy role as he was famous as a negative character after Baazigar, Anjaam and Darr. But thank God he did!

An ode to Raj Kapoor

The name “Raj” Malhotra was Aditya Chopra’s dedication to Raj Kapoor.

Got right the 25th time

Legends suggest twenty-four verses of Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aye by lyricist Anand Bakshi were rejected before director Aditya Chopra approved the final version of the song.

Punjab? Lol no.

The famous Tujhe dekha toh yeh jana sanam in the middle of beautiful yellow sarson ka khet was not shot in Punjab, as shown in the movie. It was actually shot in Gurgaon!

Truth level 9000

In the scene where Anupam Kher talks to Shah Rukh about his forefathers and their academic whereabouts, he was taking names of his actual uncles who were not too academically successful.

Got ya!

In Ruk ja oh dil deewane, Kajol actually didn't know that she would be dropped by SRK at the end of the song. Hence, the expression was genuine and completely spot on!

Ae meri zohra jabeen, then and now

Yesteryear actress Achala Sachdev who had delighted everybody with her famous song Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen in Waqt, played Simran's grandmother in DDLJ. And during Kuljeet and Simran's engagement, Amrish Puri lovingly sings that same famous song for on-screen wife Farida Jalal!

Laughter fit

While shooting the bedroom scene, where Raj tells Simran they have got cozy the night before, Shah Rukh and Kajol couldn't stop laughing. Apparently, every time SRK opened his shirt and showed Kajol the lip prints on his chest, Kajol would giggle because they were drawn by Kajol herself!

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