Iconic in every sense of the word, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, which completes 25 years of its release on October 20, remains the benchmark for romantic films in India. Written and directed by the then debutant Aditya Chopra, the film starred Shah Rakh Khan and Kajol, and broke several records upon its release. But few know it was the first film in Indian cinema to produce a making of the project!

Actor Uday Chopra, brother of Aditya, shot the behind-the-scenes (BTS). “Adi wanted to do something no one had ever done in India, with DDLJ. He asked me to be in charge of directing the ‘making’. Since this had not been done before, I had to pretty much invent how to go about it. Having just returned from film school in California, I decided this would be a great opportunity to try my hand at another aspect of filmmaking,” he reveals.

Uday recalls he would have a camera in one hand and clap in the other, with a utility belt for batteries and spare parts. “I was quite a sight on set! The advantage, I later discovered, was all artistes were very comfortable with me being right in their faces, this made for some really interesting and intimate shots, which helped the footage tremendously,” he says.

He adds the footage was also telecast on Doordarshan, again a first. “The channel made a special show of the exclusive content. DDLJ’s BTS was an eye-opener for the industry,” says Chopra.