Ajay Devgn, Raveena Tandon, and Suniel Shetty’s 1994 film Dilwale was a major success at the box office. However, the film’s writer, Karan Razdan, recently revealed in an interview with Siddharth Kannan that he first offered Ajay’s role to Shah Rukh Khan, who rejected it. He also recalled how Subhash Ghai believed the movie wouldn’t work and how people teased him, saying his film would be Raveena’s 13th flop. (Also Read: Shah Rukh Khan’s respectful gesture during National Anthem at IPL 2025 opening ceremony wins hearts. Watch
Dilwale’s writer reveals Shah Rukh Khan rejected the film
Recalling the casting of Dilwale, Karan said, “The role that I gave to Ajay Devgn in the film Dilwale was originally written for Shah Rukh Khan. I had gone to his house to narrate the story, and he liked the script. He just told me one thing: ‘Karan, at the end, the heroine should go with the other guy.’ I refused to change my film’s ending. He said, ‘then I won’t do, if I can’t sacrifice.’ I went to Ajay’s set and offered him the role. He readily accepted it. We then cast Suniel Shetty for the second lead role.”
Subhash Ghai was unimpressed with Dilwale
Karan then showed the film to filmmaker Subhash Ghai after 80% of the shoot was completed, but his reaction left him shocked. “He told me, ‘If you want to cry, cry right now, because you are anyway going to cry on the film’s release day.’ I asked why. He said, ‘Do you have any grudge against Ajay Devgn? He is not even presentable as a mad person.’ He couldn’t comment much on Suniel Shetty as he was relatively new in the industry. On the other hand, Raveena Tandon had delivered about 12 flops. People used to tease me, saying, ‘Tervi aapki hogi (The 13th will be yours)’,” the filmmaker recalled.
However, upon its release, the film became a success, and Subhash later congratulated him. Karan also recalled how Shah Rukh later met him, hugged him, and admitted that he was wrong about wanting to change the ending. He was glad the filmmaker had stuck to his vision.
About Dilwale
Helmed by Harry Baweja and written by Karan Razdan, the romantic action film featured Ajay Devgn, Suniel Shetty, Raveena Tandon, and Paresh Rawal in key roles. The film took a bumper opening and emerged as a superhit, ranking among the top-grossing films of the year.
