Sanjay Leela Bhansali once scolded Salman Khan for 'touching' Aishwarya Rai’s arm, reveals co-star: 'He was in love, so…'

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam remains one of Hindi cinema’s memorable romantic dramas. Released in 1999, the film starred Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Ajay Devgn in lead roles. Apart from its emotional love story and popular music, the film is also remembered for the chemistry between its lead actors.

Years after the film’s release, actor Smita Jayakar, who played Aishwarya’s on-screen mother, Amrita Darbar, has shared an interesting behind-the-scenes incident from the sets. In a conversation with Siddhartha Kannan, she recalled how Bhansali once scolded Salman for touching Aishwarya’s arm during a romantic scene, even though the gesture was not part of the planned sequence.

Why did Sanjay Leela Bhansali scold Salman Khan?

Recalling the incident during the filming of the song Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan, Smita said Salman was supposed to walk around a table and look at Aishwarya. However, the actor went beyond the planned movements and touched her arm.

According to Smita, “Salman had to come and walk all the way around the table, while Aishwarya was standing there. He touched her arm, which he wasn’t supposed to do. Sanjay asked him, ‘Salman, why did you touch her?’”

Smita explained that, “He just felt like touching her. He was in love, so he touched her, but that wasn’t how the scene was supposed to be done. Sanjay shouted at him and asked why he had done that. Salman was only supposed to stand there and look at her in the scene,” she said.

The unexpected moment amused people on the set, she recalled, while Aishwarya blushed.

Smita Jayakar recalls Salman and Aishwarya’s romance

Smita also spoke about the real-life chemistry between Salman and Aishwarya during the making of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. According to her, their feelings for each other were apparent, and their affection helped make the romantic moments on screen more convincing.



She recalled that the two actors would sometimes arrive together at around 11 am, despite the crew’s scheduled start time being 7 am. Their late arrivals reportedly frustrated some members of the team, who had to wait for filming to begin.

Smita quipped, “The rest of the crew would complain, saying, ‘These people arrive so late. We have a 7 am shift, and we have been waiting here until 10 am. They still haven’t arrived!’ But I always felt that when you’re in love, what can you say?”

This was not the first time Smita had spoken about the actors’ relationship. In an earlier interview with Filmymantra, she had also discussed how their romance developed during the shoot. She felt their real-life affection translated well on screen and contributed to the impact of the film’s love story.

While the film was built around a complicated romantic triangle, the memories shared by Smita have given fans another look at what was happening behind the camera.