Did You Know Dhadkan Was Delayed By Four Years Because Of Mela?

Bollywood films in the 90s and early 2000s were all about romance, drama, music, and action. One such film that is still remembered by the masses for its beautiful storytelling and soothing songs is the 2000 film, Dhadkan. Starring Shilpa Shetty, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty in the lead roles, Dhadkan, directed by Dharmesh Darshan proved to be a blockbuster at the theatres. Made on a budget of Rs 9 crore, the film minted approximately Rs 26 crore. Despite its 2-hour and 41-minute run time, the movie did not let the attention of movie enthusiasts get diverted even for a moment. Do you know that Dhadkan was shelved for almost four years before it was finally released on the silver screens? Here’s what happened.

It so happened that in 1996, after Dharmesh’s Raja Hindustani, starring Aamir Khan in the lead turned out to be a box-office success, many actors and actresses were eager to work with him. Earlier, in an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Dharmesh recounted that Aamir approached the filmmaker to make another film titled Mela as soon as possible. The urgency was due to the rapid downfall of Aamir’s brother Faisal’s film career.

“I am very selective as a filmmaker but during Raja Hindustani, he had co-operated so much that I couldn’t say no,” Dharmesh revealed back then. To make things more complicated, scriptwriter Naseem Mukri too visited Dharmesh with a new romantic story, urging him to direct the film. But since Dharmesh was already committed to making Mela he was forced to put Dhadkan on hold.

As a result, Naseem Mukri and director Raj Sinha decided to pen down the screenplay of the then-untitled romantic drama. Rajat Jain agreed to produce the film. Soon, after hearing the script, Dharmesh showed his interest in directing Dhadkan. The film failed to transpire for almost four years as the shooting of Mela was going on. The moment the filming of Mela was wrapped up, Dharmesh joined the sets of Dhadkan, giving the film its title.

After meeting with several actors and actresses, finally, Akshay Kumar and Shilpa Shetty were selected for the roles of Ram and Anjali. Since the character Dev was of a grey shade, actors like Arbaaz Khan and Bobby Deol refused to be a part of the film. That’s when Suniel Shetty came to the rescue and accepted the role. Interestingly, Dhadkan was released on August 11, on Suniel’s 39th birthday. He received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role for Dhadkan.

Read all the Latest Bollywood News and Regional Cinema News here