Himani Shivpuri says Kajol used to irritate Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra. (Photo: Kajol/Himani Shivpuri/Instagram)
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) is one of the most celebrated and longest-running films in the history of Bollywood with its shows still being screened at the Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai. While the film is full of drama, fun, and romance. Himani Shivpuri, who plays Kajol’s bua in the Aditya Chopra directorial film, recalls how the atmosphere on the set also used to be more or less the same with Kajol entertaining and shocking everyone with her tomboy attitude.
In a recent interview with the Bollywood Hungama, Himani Shivpuri recalled an incident from the sets of DDLJ which shocked veteran actress Achala Sachdev, who played Kajol’s grandmother in the film.
She said, “We used to have great time shooting for DDLJ. We had our set at Filmistan. Farida Jalal and I, we shared a huge green room. We all used to have meals together. The whole time was celebration time. I still remember how Kajol used to come in shorts. She was a tomboy and she used to literally jump with a plate of curd and apply it all over Aditya Chopra’s hair. And Achala Sachdev used to be like ‘Haaye rabba’, and said, ‘Haaye, humarein zamane mein toh Waheeda ji hoti Meena Kumari hoti thi, they hardly used to talk. They used to be so poised’. Kajol was really in that way a tomboy.”
In the same interview, the actress recalled more of Kajol’s tomboy attitude and said, “When we were doing Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Karan used to be like ‘Thank god you are a tomboy in the first half of the film’ to Kajol. Because she never used to bother if her lipstick wiped off, unlike other heroines. She used to randomly yell, ‘Bhook lagi hai, sandwich’, and just used to eat it the way she wanted. Mickey Contractor (make-up artiste) used to pull his hair. He used to be like, ‘what am I gonna do when you will become a lady.’”
In another interview with the Peeping Moon, Himani had said, “It was such a beautiful experience to shoot Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. It was fun shooting, especially the college portions. Kajol used to trouble us so much that Karan used to get irritated. She was playing a tomboyish role and it was relatable to her real life. Often the shot was ready and she was busy eating sandwiches.”
While DDLJ released in 1995, the film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai released in 1998. Both the films starred Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan in the lead roles. While DDLJ is regarded as a timeless classic, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has also gained a cult following over the years with the films’ songs still resonating with the youth and being a part of several wedding and annual day playlists.
