Bollywood to Broadway: Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol’s hit ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ heads to the stage

‘Come Fall in Love — The DDLJ Musical’ will see Aditya Chopra return as director

It’s time to relive Bollywood’s classic love story, with the romance however unspooling on a Broadway stage instead. ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ [‘DDLJ’], one of the most successful films in Indian cinematic history, will now be staged under the bright lights of the world's most famous theatres.

Chairman and Managing Director of Yash Raj Films, Aditya Chopra, who made his debut as a Bollywood filmmaker 26 years ago with this very film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, will now direct ‘DDLJ’ again, only this time, making his debut as a director on Broadway.

Titled ‘Come Fall in Love — The DDLJ Musical’ nad produced by Yash Raj Films, the musical will feature book and lyrics by Laurence Oliver Award-winner Nell Benjamin (‘Legally Blonde’, ‘Mean Girls’), while Indian songwriters Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani will serve as composers.

Tony and Emmy winner Rob Ashford (‘Frozen’, ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’, ‘The Boys from Syracuse’) will choreograph with associate choreographer Shruti Merchant. The design team will also include set design by Emmy and Tony Award winner Derek McLane (‘Moulin Rouge!’, ‘Hairspray Live!’, ‘33 Variations’) and music supervision by Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning Bill Sherman (‘In The Heights’, ‘Sesame Street’, ‘Hamilton’). Adam Zotovich is the Executive Producer for the project.

‘Come Fall in Love — The DDLJ Musical’ is set to be on stage in the Broadway season of 2022-2023, with a World Premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego September 2022. A global casting search will begin shortly headed by Duncan Stewart of Stewart/Whitley casting and Yash Raj Films casting head Shanoo Sharma.

“As a 23-year-old young man greatly influenced by Hollywood and American pop culture, I thought I would make a couple of Indian films and then I would be off to Hollywood and make ‘DDLJ’ for a worldwide English speaking audience with Tom Cruise as my leading man,” said Chopra in a statement. “That obviously didn’t happen. ‘DDLJ’ released in 1995 and became the longest running film of Indian cinema. It gave me my identity and kickstarted an amazing journey for which I’ll always be grateful.”

“Twenty-six years later I’m going back to my original vision of the story of ‘DDLJ’, a love story of an American boy and an Indian girl, a love story of two cultures…two worlds. But this time the medium is not cinema but theatre. …I will be directing DDLJ all over again but this time as an English language Broadway Musical for a worldwide audience,” Chopra continued.

‘DDLJ’, which released in 1995, has gone on to become the longest running Indian film in cinemas, which also catapulted lead actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol to fame. Chopra said the Broadway counterpart has been three years in the making with Raj making way for Rog as he romances his Simran all over again.