Sanjay Leela Bhansali on working with Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai on Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam sets: ‘Love was in the air'

Indian Express

4 hours ago

As Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam completes 26 years, the director spoke about his experience of working on the film. In a conversation with the Times of India, he called it a fulfilling experience, and also spoke about Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai's chemistry in the film. Sanjay Leela Bhansali said that they were all like one big family while they shot for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
In the interview, Sanjay shared that there was pressure to show Aishwarya Rai's character end up with Salman Khan instead of Ajay Devgn; however, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was a film where he chose not to succumb to any pressures and compromise on the story. Bhansali also revealed how Aishwarya perfectly fit the bill to play Nandini. He said that she perfectly matched his vision, and that is a very rare experience for any filmmaker.
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Talking about Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai's chemistry both on-screen and off-screen, Bhansali revealed that 'there was love in the air'. He further went on to explain that not just Salman and Aishwarya, but all the cast members were quite affectionate towards each other — Zohra Sehgalji, Helen, Salman, Aishwarya, Vikram Gokhale, and Smita Jayekar were all like one big family. The filmmaker also went on to say that shooting for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was one of his most fulfilling experiences.
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As per reports, Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai were dating around the film; however, it was later said that the actress decided to part ways with Salman as their relationship got abusive. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam emerged as one of the landmark films of Hindi cinema and established Sanjay Leela Bhansali as an auteur.
During the promotions of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan, Aishwarya had reflected on how both these character's names were Nandini. 'It's amazing na? Even Nandini in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was very very memorable. She ruled over people's heart and I'm so so thankful that I got to play Nandini then too. She had remained special to the audience and, of course, to me'.