Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), the longest-running film in the history of cinema, completed 30 years on October 20. It's common knowledge that the title of the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer was suggested by prominent actress Kirron Kher. She is even duly credited in the opening credits. However, not many are aware that she played a major role in getting Parmeet Sethi on board. The actor, who played the negative character of Kuljeet, opened up on this aspect in an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama in October 2020.
At that time, Parmeet Sethi said, “I had gone to Aditya Chopra’s house to play cards on Diwali along with my wife Archana Puran Singh since we had common friends. Adi saw me at the party. A few days later, Kirron Kher was with us and told me that Adi was searching for an anti-hero for his film and that he was looking for someone like Parmeet! I wondered, ‘Why somebody like me? Why not me? Doesn’t he know that I am an actor?’ I was very perplexed!”
He continued, “Believe it or not, at that very moment, I got a call, but it got cut. In those days, mobile phones were very rare, but I had one. And the call came on my mobile phone. And I just read aloud to everyone that this is the number from where I got a missed call. Kirron heard me and said, ‘Yeh toh Yash ji (Yash Chopra) ka number hai’! Had she not been there, I would have never known that it was Yash Chopra’s number. And I would not have even called back because in those days, making an outgoing call used to cost Rs. 20 per minute, exclusive of taxes! But thanks to her, I called and after five minutes of waiting, Adi came on the line. And he told me to come and meet him. So, you see, that’s how I got to know and that’s how I also got a call at that exact moment. I saw it as a sign. That’s why I had this inkling that this role was mine. And anyway, this whole film was blessed. Nobody in their wildest dreams thought it'd become such a big hit and that it would still be running in cinemas!”
Amusingly, a lot of people in the Northern part of India sympathized with his character, though he was a villain. Parmeet Sethi said, “Kuljeet became such a cult character that I used to get mobbed more than any other actor when I used to go in and around Punjab. Till today, I have a huge fan following over there. I see the craze there and wonder, ‘Wow, is this how Shah Rukh feels 24x7?’ (laughs). I was already popular due to Dastaan, but thanks to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, it went many notches higher. They used to say, ‘Yeh toh apna banda hai’. Many don’t even know my real name. Even today, when I am speaking to someone from that region and they don’t recognize me, I tell them that I am Kuljeet from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. And they are like ‘Oh achcha ji’! And the job gets done. Such a fan following is not normal. It's a godsend.”
More Pages: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge Box Office Collection
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