Bollywood still has a strange fascination for musical numbers that faded out in the 50’s in Hollywood. However, we can’t complain since this evergreen fad has allowed us to enjoy a plethora of lyrically-rich songs shot in beautiful locales. And, out of all the actors in the industry, Shah Rukh Khan undoubtedly owns that aspect of movies since he has gone from dancing on top of a train to sporting a six-pack in an item number. So, why was he so camera-shy for Dil Se‘s “Jiya Jale“?
Apart from solo numbers, Bollywood songs usually feature both the male and the female stars of the movie. However, in the case of “Jiya Jale“, the 4-minute musical had more of Preity Zinta than Shah Rukh. Farah Khan, who choreographed it, finally revealed the reason to Mid-Day,
“When we were shooting in Kerala for “Jiya Jale”, I told Shah Rukh that we are doing a sequence at the waterfall and I am going to make you wear a white dhoti and make you come out of the water.”
Shah Rukh, who then had just experienced stardom due to the success of DDLJ, has always shared a great bond with Farah Khan. But despite all that, asking him to wear a white dhoti which would definitely become see-through once wet, was too much.
“Of course, I was joking with him; but that’s the first time in 25 years that he didn’t land up for a shoot. He said he lost his way and there were no Google maps then. We were in a forest in Kerala.”
Well, isn’t that convenient?
The King of Romance has always been known for his wit and humor. However, it looks like he wasn’t able to catch Farah’s humor. What makes it even funnier is that they couldn’t convince him to re-shoot either and the result is in the final cut.
“If you go back and see the song, Preity Zinta is alone with the dancers in the waterfall portion because Shah Rukh did not turn up.”
You can watch the song here:
Jiya Jale was certainly one of the most popular songs growing up and still stands out as one of the best numbers in Bollywood history. But it’s always fun to know about these kinds of behind-the-scenes stories as they add to our love for these movies.