This 1993 movie was ranked as the third-highest-grossing Hindi film of the year and the highest-grossing Indian film of the year in overseas markets.
The movie we are talking about is the 1993 psychological thriller, directed and produced by Yash Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films. It stars Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla in lead roles, with Shah Rukh Khan playing the antagonist. Annu Kapoor, Tanvi Azmi, Anupam Kher, and Dalip Tahil appear in supporting roles. In the film, Kiran Awasthi (Chawla) is stalked by her obsessive lover Rahul Mehra (Khan), who goes berserk when she gets engaged to Sunil Malhotra (Deol), a navy officer, and decides to claim Kiran for himself by force.
The movie was a major commercial success and was declared a blockbuster at the box office. It ranked as the third-highest-grossing Hindi film of the year and the highest-grossing Indian film of the year in overseas markets. Upon release, it received widespread critical acclaim, with high praise for its direction, story, screenplay, soundtrack, cinematography, costumes, and the cast’s performances.
Juhi Chawla was not the first choice of Yash Chopra
We are talking about Darr, it proved to be a milestone in the careers of both Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh Khan, catapulting them to superstardom. Interestingly, the role of Juhi Chawla was initially offered to Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai, and Sridevi. The legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra first offered the film to Sridevi, with whom he had previously worked in Chandni (1989) and Lamhe (1991). However, Sridevi reportedly wanted the entire script to be reworked so that her character would be the obsessive lover, which Chopra refused. The film was then offered to Madhuri Dixit, who declined the role for unknown reasons.
Darr also went on to win the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Sunny Deol called Darr a mistake
Sunny Deol once described working on Darr as a bad experience and even called it a mistake in his career. In an old interview with Filmfare, the actor shared his frustrations about the film and vowed never to work with the late Yash Chopra again. He recalled an incident in Switzerland when he was so angry that, in a moment of rage, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and ended up ripping his jeans. “If I could restart my career, I’d avoid a mistake called Darr. Making that film was the worst experience of my life. I was tired of the lies and manipulations,” Sunny said.
The actor was upset about the way his character, a commando officer, was shown losing in a fight scene. Speaking about the disagreement years later on Aap Ki Adalat, Sunny revealed, “I had a heated argument with Yash Chopra. I explained that my character is a trained commando and wouldn’t lose easily in a fight. If the antagonist could stab me when I wasn’t looking, that would make sense. But how could he defeat me while I was fully aware? That didn’t feel right.” Sunny admitted that during the argument, he became so frustrated that he unknowingly ripped his pants.
Sunny also shared that he didn’t speak to Shah Rukh Khan for 16 years after Darr, although it wasn’t intentional. “It’s not like I refused to talk to him; I’m not someone who socializes much, so we just never crossed paths to speak,” he explained.
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