Before Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol's classic, there was another Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge — released in 1980!

The title Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge instantly brings to our minds the 1995 classic blockbuster by Aditya Chopra starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri and Farida Jalal in pivotal roles.

However, it would come as a surprise to many that the 1995 movie isn’t the only one with this name. There was a film called Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge released 15 years before the Aditya Chopra film (with a different spelling of ‘Dulhaniya’).

The 1980 film was directed by Rajendra Singh ‘Atish’ and it starred Beena Banerjee, Tariq Shah and Desh Gautam. This is the only info available about this movie’s cast on IMDb. Of course, the database site also contains a very colourful and amusing poster of the film. It has an animated image of four women in vibrant clothing walking in what looks like a park full of flowers.

The poster also says that Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge was produced by Kishore Saigal and Rajendra Singh ‘Atish’ himself. It had music by Cuckoo Singh while the film was cinematographed by H Laxminarayan, who was also behind the lens in known films like Ankush, Pratighaat, Suryavanshi, Rang, Anari No. 1, etc.

However, there is no info either on IMDb or anywhere on the internet on whether the film was released. In fact, apart from the names of the few cast members and crew, there is no info about the film.

Bollywood Hungama tried digging for more details about the film. Our search led us to the well-known film historian, author and archivist SMM Ausaja. He referred to the book Geet Kosh, which is a compilation of songs of all the yesteryear films. It has an entry of this Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge movie. Apart from its songs, it also features the film’s censor details. It received censor clearance on January 30, 1980, which indicates that it did release. Its length is mentioned as 15 reels, which roughly equals to around 2 hours and 45 minutes of runtime.

The book also mentions the rest of the cast of the film in the form of Devender, Ashok Nath, Parvez Malik, Madhumita, Kavita Kiran, Vandana, etc. Some of its songs include, ‘He Mere Bhole Bhandari’, ‘Loot Liya Dil Goriye Pyaar Ne’, ‘Suno Ri Sunaau Main’, etc.

The film’s genre as mentioned in the book is ‘social’. This coupled with the song ‘He Mere Bhole Bhandari’ gives an idea that it had some religious angle as well. These two factors indicate that the 1980 film won’t be an out-and-out romance like its 1995 namesake.

From the aforementioned cast of the film, Beena Banerjee is the only one who is not only well-known but also active even today. She has worked in well-known films like Andar Baahar (1984), Meri Jung (1985), Karma (1986), Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Baaghi (1990), Khiladi (1992), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Criminal (1994), Bewafa Sanam (1995), Zamaana Deewana (1995), Lajja (2001), Koi… Mil Gaya (2003), etc.

Some of her notable TV shows include, Katha Sagar, Gul Gulshan Gulfam, Indian, Uttaran, Stories by Rabindranath Tagore, etc. She was last seen just recently in the second season of the web series The Trial, which starred Kajol in the lead.

The trivia about an older DDLJ is sure to surprise many film lovers across the world.

Also Read: 30 years of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge: Maratha Mandir’s Manoj Desai reveals Shah Rukh Khan told him, ‘Humein thank you bolo’: “I replied, ‘Shah Rukh ji, tum aur Kajol thank you mujhe bolo ki itne kam rate mein main chalata hoon”

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