4 years of Ranveer-Deepika’s Ram-Leela: Did you know that Ranveer Singh was not the original choice?

The film Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela holds a special place in the heart of every DeepVeer fan out there. Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh starred in this 2013 film, which was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali , who had taken a lot to risk with this one, as his previous directorial, Guzaarish (2010), though a critical hit, failed to garner good box-office collections.

The story revolved around Ram (portrayed by Ranveer) and Leela (portrayed by Deepika), who belong to two warring factions, but fall in love. The rest of the story is about whether they are able to overcome the opposition by their families or not.

The sizzling chemistry between the lead duo, which spilled out into real-life too, coupled with the chartbuster songs composed by Bhansali himself, ensured that the film was a blockbuster. Not only did it bolster Ranveer’s position in Bollywood, but also helped a lot in earning Deepika the tag of the 500-crore heroine, owing to the three other hits she had in 2013 — Yeh Jawaani hai Deewani, Chennai Express and Race 2.

As the film completes four years of its release today, check out these 10 interesting things about the film you probably didn’t know:

1. To flaunt that chiselled body in the film, it took Ranveer just six, instead of the required 12 weeks. He had revealed in an earlier interview to a leading daily, “All those days, especially before the song Tattad Tattad (that I had no salt, minimum water and bare minimum carbs) were worth it.”

2. To cut down on the time, Ranveer had to spend shuttling between the shooting location and his gym. Director Bhansali had a makeshift gym constructed on the film set itself.

3. The ghaghra that Deepika had to wear in song Nagada Sang Dhol weighed around 30 kgs! She had to wear a medical brace around her shoulder and back to quell the pain.

4. The original choice for Leela’s role was Kareena Kapoor Khan! But she opted out of the film, because she was also offered Karan Johar ’s Gori Tere Pyaar Mein at the same time, and she wanted to do that. But her team later went on record to say that it was due to ‘date issues’.

5. Harshvardhan Rane, who made his Hindi film debut in Sanam Teri Kasam (2016) was originally offered the role of Deepika Padukone’s brother in the film. Eventually, actor Sharad Kelkar played the role.

6. Ram and Leela belonged to enemy communities in the film, but what very few know is that such a fight exists in real-life too. Therefore, the Kshatriya community opposed usage of community names in the movie, so Jadeja and Rabari community titles were changed to Saneda and Rajad.

7. Ranveer Singh wasn’t the first choice for the role of Ram! Pakistani actor Imran Abbas, who was seen in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016) playing Anushka Sharma ’s boyfriend, was originally offered the part. But he turned it down due to “contractual obligations”.

8. Gulshan Deviah, who played the role of antagonist in the film, actually had to suffer from migraines because of the heavy earrings he was required to wear as a part of his costume. He had said, “I spent hours and days trying to manipulate the shape of the earrings to fit my ears comfortably but it just didn’t work. They were really painful. I just had to put up with the pain as the earrings were such an integral part of the brilliantly designed look.”

9. According to reports, the special song Ram Chahe Leela, featuring Priyanka Chopra, was first offered to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. But the original lyrics were ‘Thappad Se Darr Nahi Lagta Pyaar Se lagta Hai’. Aishwarya opted out.

10. The title of the film was changed after protests. Earlier titled ‘Ramleela’, it was changed to ‘Ram-Leela’. It was later changed again to Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram Leela. According to reports, the plea said the word Ram Leela is associated with Lord Ram, and people will watch the film with expecting it would be related to his life, but will instead hurt their sentiments.