Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas is one of the landmark films in Indian cinema, and even today, new stories about this magnum opus continue to emerge. Starring Shah Rukh Khan as the titular hero, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Paro, and Madhuri Dixit Nene as Chandramukhi, the film has cemented its place as a classic. However, behind the scenes, the movie also witnessed the end of the real-life romance between Aishwarya and Salman Khan. During the shoot, Salman was a frequent visitor on set and even stepped in for a key scene that made it to the film’s final cut.

Salman Khan in Devdas?

For the uninitiated, Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's relationship began on the sets of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam but had become strained by the time Devdas was being filmed. In Shah Rukh Khan’s biography, King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema by Anupama Chopra, the author recounts how Salman was frequently present on the sets and even stepped in to act in a scene where his face would not be visible, leading everyone to believe it was Shah Rukh Khan.

The scene in question involves Paro (played by Aishwarya) standing near a river when a thorn gets stuck in her foot. Unable to remove it herself, Devdas (Shah Rukh Khan) comes to her aid, gently plucking out the thorn. However, it wasn’t Shah Rukh Khan’s hand acting one scene —it was Salman Khan’s. Salman, who was present on set, volunteered to demonstrate the action for Shah Rukh. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali kept the camera rolling during Salman’s demonstration and ultimately used the footage in the final cut of the film. This poignant moment, capturing the unraveling of a real-life love story, added an emotional layer to the scene.

The Tragic Backstory

In King of Bollywood, Chopra writes, “During the making [of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam], she [Aishwarya] had fallen in love with her co-star, Salman Khan. For two years, Aishwarya and Salman had conducted a tempestuous affair in a fishbowl (there were rumors of parental disapproval, physical abuse, intimidation), and by the time Devdas was shot, the relationship had disintegrated into an unpleasant, incoherent mess. Salman had become a real-life Devdas, simultaneously self-destructing and attempting to salvage his romance. He was as much a part of the Devdas shoot as the crew.”

Elaborating on the thorn scene, Chopra adds, “Salman Khan would spend nights lying intoxicated on the floor of Aishwarya’s trailer. One night, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai were doing a romantic scene that required Shah Rukh to extricate a thorn from her foot. Salman was on the set, and he volunteered to demonstrate how this should be done. SRK agreed, and as Salman performed the action, Sanjay rolled the cameras. It was a poignant moment: a spent, tragic lover enacting his own life for the film. Aishwarya cried. It was the last time the two were captured on film together.”

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