It has been 26 years since Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ on the big screen, yet the film holds a special place in the hearts of the audience and the director itself. The film not only demonstrated Bhansali’s signature scene grandeur, but also captured the cracking chemistry between Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai at the peak of its off-screen romance.
As the film celebrates more than two decades of its heritage, Bhansali opened in a conversation with the Times of India, about the magic that was further closed on camera during its construction, and why did he ever pressurize it to rewrite its end.
Bhansali refused to change the end of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
The final acting of the film, where Aishwarya Rai’s character Nandini chose her husband (Ajay Devgan) on her former Prem (Salman Khan), shook the debate at that time. In the end, there was a lot of industry pressure to unite star lovers-especially the real-life discussion around Salman and Aishwarya’s relationship. But Bhansali refused to bow down to expectations.
“I was forced to shoot an alternative, pleasant end [for Khamoshi] Due to the pressure of distributors who did not want a tragic conclusion. But we … with Dil de Chu Sanam, stood firmly on the end I imagined from the beginning, “he told the Times of India.
Asked if Aishwarya’s character was associated with Salman in the climax, Bhansali said, Bhansali said, said, Bhansali said, ,Yes, there was pressure. But this is a story that I would like to save for another day. ,
Casting Aishwarya as Nandini
Bhansali called Casting Aishwarya Rai a rare moment of creative alignment as Nandini, as he had imagined, praising her for embellishing the character. He said, “She was my perfect Nandini. I could not ask for a better avatar of the character that was in my mind. She used to match my point of view – and this is a rare experience in my film production journey.”
Salman Khan -Ariyavar Rai’s Chemistry
It was impossible to remember the chemistry between Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai, both and off screen – some Bhansali openly accepted. “Yes, there was love in the air. But not only between them; there was a lot of affection among all of us. Zohra Sehgalji, Helen Aunty, Salman, Aishwarya, Vikram Gokhale, Smita Jayakar- We were like a big family. I don’t think I didn’t think I had experience shooting another film.”
