This blockbuster film was rejected by Aishwarya Rai, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Sridevi; made outsider a superstar, won National Award for...

Directed by Yash Chopra, the 1993 romantic psychological thriller Darr starred Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla in the lead roles of the husband and wife - Sunil Malhotra and Kiran Awasthi with Shah Rukh Khan as the villain Rahul Mehra, Kiran's obsessive stalker. Annu Kapoor, Tanvi Azmi, Dilip Tahil, and Anupam Kher played key supporting roles in the film. Interestingly, before Sunny, Shah Rukh, and Juhi were finalised for Darr, multiple actors refused the film due to different reasons.

After working with Sridevi in Chandni and Lamhe, the late Chopra wanted to work with Sridevi again in Darr, but she asked him to change the whole script and make the character of Kiran as the obsessive lover, but the director refused. He then offered the film to Madhuri Dixit, who didn't like the script. Aishwarya Rai was also considered, but she was busy with her Miss World commitments then, and couldn't make it. Divya Bharti was eventually signed as Kiran.

For the role of Sunil, Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty and Jackie Shroff were considered, but the three of them refused the film. Finally, Sunny Deol was cast as the film's leading hero. Chopra initially wanted Sanjay Dutt to play the antagonist Rahul, but Dutt was arrested for the possession of illegal weapons after the 1993 Bombay blasts. The director's next choice was Ajay Devgn, who declined to play the villain. Finally, Aamir Khan agreed.

Darr was eventually announced with Sunny Deol, Aamir Khan, and Divya Dutta. Aamir got Divya dropped from the project as he convinced Yash Chopra to replace her with Juhi Chawla. Before the shooting began, Aamir requested for a joint narration with Sunny, which the filmmaker declined and removed Aamir from the film. Yash Chopra eventually cast an outsider Shah Rukh Khan in Darr, and the rest is history. Even though his first three famous films Darr, Baazigar, and Anjaam had him playing the villain, Shah Rukh became the King of Romance, and is now among the biggest superstars in the world cinema.

The 1993 romantic psychological thriller was finally released on December 24, 1993, in the Christmas weekend and became a blockbuster. Darr emerged as the third highest-grossing Hindi film of the year after Govinda, Chunky Panday-starrer Aankhen, and Khalnayak starring Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, and Madhuri Dixit. The Yash Chopra directorial won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 41st National Film Awards in 1994.

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