For those who have seen Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam—and who hasn’t? —at the climax of the plot it’s ‘husband’ Ajay Devgn who walks away with ‘wife’ Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, leaving the lover Salman Khan high and dry.
If the truth be told, Salman was not happy with this ending. In fact, he was vehemently opposed to it. How could another man walk away with the love of his life? Salman was furious and frustrated. The real-life love affair was at its peak. Salman couldn’t bear to see his love walk away with another man, even if it was only for the camera.
Salman who was Bhansali’s best friend during the film’s making, tried everything to convince his director-friend that he should “get” the heroine at the end. When nothing worked and Bhansali refused to listen, Salman hit on a brainwave. He roped in his other best friend Sooraj Barjatya to fight his case before Bhansali.
One fine day during the final phase of the shooting of Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam, Salman landed on the sets with Barjatya who spent close to two hours trying to explain to Bhansali why his film’s ending was wrong and why he needed to change it.
The art of persuasion was nothing but water off the duck’s back. Bhansali went ahead and shot the ending the way he wanted. Mr Devgn walked into the sunset with Ms Rai while Mr Khan wept. Real tears.
ALSO READ: Revisiting Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ As It Clocks 26 Years
