Actor Parmeet Sethi‘s role as Kuljeet in Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge, the groom chosen by Amrish Puri to marry his daughter Simran (Kajol), received a lot of love. The actor’s breakthrough film will soon clock 30 years of its release. On the special occasion, Parmeet spoke to SCREEN about the interesting story behind landing the iconic character.
During the candid chat, Parmeet was asked about getting the part of Kuljeet. The actor shared, “Offer toh nahi kia, mujhe laddna pada iss role ke liye. I never believed in serendipity, but such a thing happened that made me believe in it. I was already going around with Archana, so one fine day, we went to Yash ji’s Diwali party at their house. We played cards and had a lot of fun.”
He continued, “A few days later, at a common friend’s house, Kirron Kher said that she has given this title to Yash ji’s film, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge. And then, she mentioned that Adi was looking for a boy like Bittoo, for a second lead kind of a thing. I was shocked and I said, ‘What do you mean by like me? He knows me. Does he not know I am an actor?”’
Destiny played its role and Parmeet Sethi got a call from Yash Raj Films at that exact moment. “Exactly at that moment, I got a call from a Juhu number, and Kirron ji said that this was Yash ji’s number. I immediately called back and Adi asked me to meet him. I met Adi in his sitting room. I showed my VHS tape recording and everything.”
However, to the actor’s disappointment, he didn’t receive a call back from Aditya Chopra. “Ten days passed by and suddenly I saw in the newspaper that Adi chose another actor to play Kuljeet. I was completely devastated. He told me that your vibes are very positive, I don’t think you’ll suit in a negative role. I knew that he won’t give it to me. I just kept thinking for two weeks, couldn’t get it out of my head. I felt that this role was for me,” Parmeet said.
The 58-year-old added, “I asked him to give me a screen test once. He smiled and called me to his office again. He gave me four main scenes of the film. I had so much guts, I changed the lines a bit to give it more of a Punjabi essence. Archana also contributed and helped me with a few phrases. I gave screen tests with and without the camera, because Adi wanted to see how I am in front of the lens. I was so nervous, waiting to exhale, while watching my own scenes with him. And after a long pause, he said that you are my Kuljeet. I jumped and hugged him. Archana and I sat in our Maruti 800, went to the main road and I screamed on the top of my voice.”
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Parmeet Sethi also opened up about his bond with Shah Rukh Khan and recalled an anecdote while shooting a scene with him. “I had a fantastic time with Shah Rukh. He helped me a lot. One was with the beer scene, when we were drinking at the farm. The sun was setting and we had very less time to shoot it. I wasn’t able to open it using my mouth as per the timing. Being a theatre person, he explained to me how to do it,” he revealed.
“We knew each other from earlier, because I had travelled with Archana (Puran Singh) for a world tour with the Morani brothers, the stage shows with Shah Rukh. So, we became friends and we had a rapport. Yash ji kept saying that the shot is good enough, let’s move forward. But, I requested one more shot and I did it again. Shah Rukh was very calm and patient. He motivated me to take as many shots I wanted. He is always a very giving actor, cooperative, someone who never says that he won’t do another take because he gave a good one,” the actor added.
Parmeet Sethi mentioned that feels forever grateful to his co-star, late actor Amrish Puri. “Amrish ji and I shared the same vanity van, with two different rooms. But, one could easily hear what was happening on the other side. I learnt a lot from that man without him knowing. I saw him coming in the morning and then I heard him start his rehearsal. He rehearsed that entire famous climax scene from morning till lunch, then started again. He was saying his lines the whole day. That thing hit me, aise hi nahi bangaye yeh Amrish ji. That taught me a lot. He gave his best in the first take itself,” he concluded.
