When Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge hit theaters in 1995, the film didn’t just introduce Aditya Chopra as a filmmaker, it redefined the landscape of Indian romantic cinema. As DDLJ completes 30 years since its release, SCREEN spoke with actress Pooja Ruparel, who played Chutki, Kajol’s younger sister in the film. Pooja, who was just 12 years old when she shot for the movie, fondly recalled numerous memories from the film’s set.
On DDLJ completing 30 years, Pooja shared, “I am certain that no person walking on the planet right now can say that their film has been in a theater for the past 30 years. The experience I have of it is incredible. I can officially never throw myself a pity party again. Something I created for a short amount of time brought a lot of joy for a long amount of time. Being a small part of something this huge is the biggest part of my life.”
Sharing how she bagged the role in the film, Pooja Ruparel, who made her debut at the age of 9 with Rakesh Roshan’s King Uncle, said, “Three years after King Uncle, they got my number from Filmkraft’s office, and gave me a call. We had refused 100 offers by then. After King Uncle, every child actor role was offered to me first. Luckily, my parents had the foresight to say that I was not a money-making machine, and she will go back to school, even though we were very middle-class. So, I never felt like I was a star. But when the Chopras call, how do you tell them no?”
“The next thing I know is that we were going shopping at UCB (United Colors of Benetton). Pamji was just buying out the store. She took me shopping for the entire wardrobe of Chutki, and for the photoshoot, and it was like a whole other world. I never had to struggle; the door was open and I was invited. I was 12 when we started shooting and 13 when the film was released,” Pooja added.
Pooja Ruparel on Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan
Recalling her fond memories with Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan, Pooja Ruparel said, “Kajol and SRK were like fire and water. My equation with SRK started from King Uncle. His life changed post Deewana, the way people saw him. I have to give him credit that when I met him the second time, his life was not the same at all, but he was. That is the true mark of a gentleman. He is such a gentle, generous, and giving soul, and an interesting, intelligent person.”
“Kajol is a feminist class wrapped into a person. I always thought I wanted her confidence. She was bouncing off the walls, being her truest self. She was just being her. She and SRK were very good friends. As a teenager seeing two co-actors, who are with different people…one is married, the other one getting married, just falling in love. There was buzz on set about her just falling in love, and they were such great co-actors who could stimulate the most perfect romance, and after the cut, they were friends again. Seeing that dexterity in people was great, I was soaking it all in,” Pooja shared.
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When Yash Chopra ordered tubs of ice-cream for Kajol
Pooja described Kajol as the “pampered princess” on the set of DDLJ and recalled how Yash Chopra fulfilled even small wishes, like ordering tubs of Baskin-Robbins. “Kajol was like the pampered princess of the set as the leading lady should be. I remember one day, Baskin-Robbins had newly opened, and we were used to Amul ice cream prices. Maybe Kajol had said that she wanted to eat Baskin-Robbins ice cream. Yashji just heard, and tubs of ice-cream were being brought into the lunch room. Talk about treating your people with pride and love. I just thought I would never be on a shoot like this ever again, and I was right.”
On Aditya Chopra
For Pooja, memories of the DDLJ set still carry a touch of magic; her eyes sparkle as she says, “It was some other country aesthetic that was working in that studio. People there functioned 10 years ahead of most people in the industry; the precision, planning, and foresight were brilliant. Even the books on the set were from London, even though the set was in Goregaon. It was like living in a film school. Aditya Chopra was uncompromising, crystal clear; you couldn’t feel like it was his first film. He had run through every scene in his mind a million times, and you knew that. Never on the set did we see Yashji whispering in his ear; he was the captain of the ship. The parent-child respectful relationship is also mirrored in the film.”
On Amrish Puri and Farida Jalal
Pooja also had some fun stories to share about her on-screen parents, Amrish Puri and Farida Jalal. “Amrish ji was so cute, imagine Mogambo being such a perfectionist. He had a pet name on set; they would call him ‘suggestion-e-alam’, because he would be very authentic during scenes, and there was no way to tell him that if they followed his way, the film would become 6 hours long. It was too funny. Faridaji is an angel. She was like a mother. Kajol was sleeping in her lap, they were having a conversation, and she was so loving. In Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna, she told Adi to let me dance. I was just playing the dholak, so in the end, even I danced.”
On her best and toughest day on the sets of DDLJ
Pooja Ruparel remembered that her best and worst days on the shoot were around the climax sequence. Pooja said, “My best day on the sets of DDLJ was when we were shooting for the climax in Panvel. At night, there would be a campfire, and we would play this board game called Articulate. It was similar to Taboo. Archana Puran Singh was also there, and we would play board games all night long. In the daytime, Pamji would sit and do her crossword puzzles, so it felt like being on a vacation with family. Uday was running around on the set. Adi was tensed as usual, and the rest of us were partying. He had thousands of calculations. It was his first film, and the most important thing for him. It was hilarious because he was trying to get friends to work.”
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Recalling her toughest day on set, she said, “The toughest was the pre-climax scene that was shot in the house. They had rehearsed for an entire day before. For half a day, everyone was given positions, waited on our lines because Adi wanted a one-shot. There was a lot of precision and planning involved. The output was so beautiful, and we didn’t have monitors back then. Of the million takes we did, one that got okayed was after lunch, and we could not remember for the life of us if I had worn my specs in the scene or not. It was hanging on the dress, and we couldn’t remember if I wore it or not. That tension, and me feeling guilty, I still remember.”
