7 Years Of Band Baaja Baaraat: Did You Know Ranveer Singh Was Not The First Choice For The Film?

The film Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) was what you essentially call a sleeper hit. The movie was also one which gave the industry one of its most energetic and expressive actors ever, in the form of Ranveer Singh . The movie marked his debut in Bollywood, and was Anushka Sharma ’s second film.

A major reason behind the massive response and buzz generated before the release was its music (who can forget the peppy Ainvayi Ainvayi?). Shot mostly in Delhi, the story was about the carefree, chilled-out Bittoo Sharma (played by Ranveer), and the ambitious, strong-willed Shruti Kakkar (Anushka Sharma). The two start out hating each other, but join hands for business, only to part ways after love creates complications. How the two reconcile forms the rest of the story.

As the film marks 7 years of its release, (and hence, 7 years of Ranveer, too), here are 10 things about the film which you probably didn’t know:

1. Ranveer wasn’t the original choice for the film! It was Ranbir Kapoor , who turned it down.

2. When the shooting of the film was on in Delhi, a crowd gathered — naturally — to see which film was being shot. Some thought it was Ranbir Kapoor, while some were left guessing who it was, because Ranveer was completely unknown till then! Even Anushka wasn’t recognised by many, even after having starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi ! The cops called in to secure the sets complained that they had to be there in the cold when the stars were unknown to anyone.

3. Ranveer had revealed in an interview to GlamSham, “When we were shooting in the DDA market in Delhi, there was a huge crowd gathered to see the shoot. And there was a liquor store there. It was situated in such a place, that the crew was blocking its way. After some time, the owner came up and said I have lost so much money because of you! What the hell are you doing? My business is going down! Everyone was trying to control him. The direction team tried to plead saying, we are just going, we are just about to finish. But he was not budging. Then I went up to him, and said, “Please sir, meri pehli film hai”. And I don’t know what got into him. He suddenly melted! And said: “Oh bhai, tuney kya baat kehdi. Ab tu shooting kar! Saari raat shooting kar!”

4. The film was shot in many popular places in Delhi, including North Campus of Delhi University. The scene where Ranveer and Anushka are eating a bread pakora under a tree was shot at Lovers’ Point of Hansraj College, where it’s rumoured that Shah Rukh Khan (an alumnus of the college) had proposed to his wife Gauri Khan.

5. How Ranveer Singh bagged the film is the stuff dreams are made of. Shanoo Sharma, the casting director of the film called him seven times, but he didn’t pick up, because he was on a date! She left him a message saying ‘Adi Chopra audition’, which finally made Ranveer realise the gravity of the situation.

6. When Ranveer met Aditya Chopra, the producer of the film after he was finalised, he was told, “You’re not the most good looking guy. You have to do some good acting if you want people to like you.”

7. The film was originally rumoured to be titled Shaadi Mubarak. The rumours had intensified so much that the producers had to actually step in and issue a statement that the film’s name was not that.

8. The film became so popular upon release, that it was officially remade in Tamil and Telugu titled Aaha Kalyanam, starring Vaani Kapoor and Nani in the lead roles.

9. Ranveer was the first ever solo hero to be launched by Yash Raj Films .

10. While shooting an intense scene, Ranveer’s elbow accidentally hit Anushka’s face! She was cool about it, but Ranveer revealed in an interview later, “The ADs (assistant directors) of the film started having fun and wanting to watch the scene in slow motion!”