Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor sparked dating rumours when they worked together on ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. At the time, Ranbir was said to be dating Deepika Padukone, and Katrina was believed to be with Salman Khan, but neither couple spoke about it openly. Actor Darshan Jariwala, who was there during the Ooty shoot, has now talked about the chemistry he saw between Ranbir and Katrina. The two later got into a relationship of their own, which stayed in the news for years, before they broke up in 2016.
Darshan Jariwala on Ranbir-Katrina’s on-set chemistry
In a recent conversation with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, Darshan was questioned about the romance that appeared to be developing between the film’s lead pair. The actor responded, “Where do you think an actor brings his material from?” He went on to explain, “It is from his surroundings and personal experience. Some purists call it emotional memory. But it is often the actor’s personal experiences and emotions that they put into their characters. It must have been the same with Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. There is no doubt that there was a chemistry between the two of them.” Looking back on the extended shooting schedule in Ooty, Darshan said, “We had a forty-day schedule in Ooty, when all of us were together the whole time for the shoot. The kind of atmosphere we had on set was so full of life, laughter and fun. It was a film with a lot of good humour.”
Ranbir-Katrina’s co-star Salman Khan’s cameo in the film
Salman Khan’s cameo in ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’ was another aspect of the film that caught people’s attention. Asked about the reports circulating back then about Ranbir’s link-up with Deepika and Katrina’s relationship with Salman, Darshan said he had never really been aware of their personal lives. He said, “I am not aware of that but I know it was a great casting coup by Santoshi Ji. The entire scene between Salman and Ranbir in the film is very funny. It was genius of Santoshi Ji to work out these things.”
Was there nervousness among Ranbir-Katrina and Salman on set?
When asked if the three actors felt any nervousness while shooting the scene together, Darshan said, “I am not sure if they were but I know that Ranbir Kapoor is supremely confident.” On the subject of Salman, he added, “Salman is destiny’s child. For him to be present is enough. He is a huge star. He was playing himself in the film, so Santoshi Ji didn’t give any specific cue to Salman.”
