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Parmeet Sethi may have played several memorable characters on screen, but his most enduring one is that of Kuljeet, the macho Punjabi fiancé of Simran, played by Kajol, in Aditya Chopra’s 1995 seminal romantic comedy Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Thirty years later, as Chopra presented Come Fall in Love, a stage musical adaptation of the film overseas, another member from Parmeet’s family was almost cast as Kuljeet.
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During a YouTube Live to celebrate the 1 million milestone of his family’s channel AAAP Ka Parivaar on Sunday, Parmeet revealed that his younger son, Ayushmaan Sethi, also an aspiring actor, had auditioned for the role of Kuljeet in Come Fall in Love. “He was shortlisted for the role of Kuljeet in the Broadway adaptation of DDLJ that happened at West End of London. He almost got it,” revealed the actor.
Ayushmaan, who was also a part of the YouTube Live, then revealed the reason behind his rejection. “They wanted someone who was experienced in Western classical singing for a long time. I have some experience in it, but not as much as they wanted,” said Ayushmaan. He, like his elder brother, Aaryamann Sethi, is a graduate of the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York.
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Archana Puran Singh then chimed in, “As an aspiring actor, it’s very tough to describe what you’re doing. You’re doing struggle. ‘Struggle’ is a very Indian term, but we usually call it ‘aspiring’ actors.”
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) revolved around the blossoming romance between Raj (Shah Rukh Khan), a young London NRI, who falls in love with Simran during a Europe trip. But her stern father Baldev (Amrish Puri) objects and relocates his family to India since she’s already engaged to Kuljeet, who lives in Punjab. Raj then travels to India and wins her extended family’s heart in order to reunite with Simran.
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In an interview with SCREEN, Parmeet Sethi revealed even he was initially rejected for the role of Kuljeet in the film, but fought his way back. “I asked him (Aditya Chopra) to give me a screen test once. He smiled and called me to his office again. He gave me four main scenes of the film. I had so much guts, I changed the lines a bit to give it more of a Punjabi essence. Archana also contributed and helped me with a few phrases… After a long pause, he said, ‘You are my Kuljeet,’” recalled Parmeet.
