Yash Chopra used to stammer, Shah Rukh Khan picked up the iconic line K-K-K-Kiran after observing him: Juhi Chawla

02/07/2024

Yash Chopra’s romantic thriller Darr, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Deol, and Juhi Chawla, was released on December 24, 1993. (Indian Express Archive)

Yash Chopra's Darr was a significant film in Shah Rukh Khan's career. Released in 1993, it showcased him in a negative role, which was a departure from the typical romantic hero roles he has been playing over the decades. His portrayal of the obsessive lover, Rahul Mehra, was intense and memorable. The dialogue 'I love you K-K-K-Kiran' became iconic and is still associated with his character in the film. This role helped establish SRK as a versatile actor capable of playing complex characters, and it contributed significantly to his rise to stardom in Bollywood.

Juhi Chawla, who starred in Darr alongside SRK, at the recently held Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry event, revealed that the iconic dialogue where the actor had to stammer each time he said 'Kiran', was inspired from Yash Chopra's own struggle with speech. "Maine yeh notice nahin kiya tha but Shah Rukh was observant. Yash ji thoda haklate the aur Shah Rukh ne bataya ki unhone woh wahan se pick kiya tha (Shah Rukh once revealed that he picked up K-K-K-Kiran from Yash Chopra who used to stammer a little. He said, 'I am going to use it in the film' and wahan se unhone woh shuru kiya and thank God for that!," recalled Juhi, who shared the screen space with SRK in numerous films including Yes Boss, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Duplicate etc.

SRK also shared how he perfected his stammer in the 1993 film Darr and revealed the quirky ideas he used to nail his villainous act in the Yash Chopra blockbuster. In the docuseries The Romantics streaming on Netflix, he discussed becoming friendly with filmmaker Aditya Chopra while working on Darr. The actor mentioned he gave Aditya some inputs about his character Rahul Mehra. "I had a classmate who had a stammer. And then we did some little study, some BBC documentary or something where they talked about that people's minds become aware to one sound, and it's like a sharp current," he revealed.

Actor Shahrukh Khan and actress Juhi Chawla in fil

Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla in film Darr. (Photo: Express Archive)

"So, you can't say the word. I told Yashji (Yash Chopra) that I would like to use this aspect with the character. And then Adi (Aditya Chopra) suggested that because you become aware of a sound, let's make him aware of the woman he loves the most, her name. So, I only stammer on the word Kiran. It was just for that one word because he's so aware of her," Shah Rukh said.

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He added that he would have many “pseudo-intellectual conversations about characterisation” with Aditya. "I had some really fantastically stupid ideas. Like I remember once going to Adi and saying, ‘Can I make this phone call hanging upside down?' Adi said 'Yeah but… Dad won't allow that.' And sometimes he would come and tell me, ‘Listen I think dad is not going to take a close-up of this. But I think you did very well. So, you suggest it, if I do it, he'll turn me down.' So, we were like the filters who kind of helped each other with Yash Ji."

Talking about Aditya, SRK shared, “To be honest, during Darr, Yash Chopra was the topmost director of the country. Although they were very loving, I felt a little ill at ease in this big set-up. So, the person who I became friendly with, who I could chat with, was Adi.”

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