Aditya Chopra on how he reimagined Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge for his Broadway musical

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ), Aditya Chopra's upcoming Broadway musical based on his 1995 Bollywood film, is set to premiere on September 14 at The Old Globe in Balboa Park, San Diego, California.

According to sources, the creators of the musical, titled Come Fall In Love, stated that it is a "celebration of inclusivity and diversity in an increasingly polarised world."

Aditya explained the motivation for the film, in a statement: "I first imagined DDLJ (before it was called DDLJ) as a Hollywood love story between a white American man and an Indian woman." At the time, my main motivation was to present Indian culture and values to a global audience. Years later, as I reimagine the story as a Broadway musical, my guiding principle remains the same: to introduce Indian culture to a global audience. And the most powerful way to depict a country's culture and values is to look at it through the eyes of someone who does not share that culture. That is the premise of Come Fall In Love (CFIL), a story about Indian Simran, her culture, and heritage as seen through the eyes of American Roger."

The director pointed out that CFIL will focus on the character of Simran. “It is the story of Simran, an Indian American. She's at the centre of the musical's story, as she struggles to balance her love for Indian tradition and her family with her love for Roger. He is a white American man who falls madly in love with Simran and then falls in love with her culture and her country. He finds a new version of himself in India's energy, values and way of life,” added Aditya.

Aditya will be directing a cast of 30 artists, which is led by Shoba Narayan (Simran) who is a Bharatanatyam dancer and Broadway artiste. She is known for playing Princess Jasmine in Broadway's Aladdin. British actor, Austin Colby, will be essaying the character Roger Mandel. The creative team is studded with Emmy and Tony Award winners and nominees, including Derek McLane (set design), Linda Cho (costumes), Japhy Wiedeman (lights) and Jessica Paz (sound).

CFIL has many firsts for India and Indians, too. “For the first time, an Indian director, Aditya Chopra, has made a debut on Broadway. It is the first Bollywood musical set to be on Broadway. It has Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjianii debuting too as composers. Shruti Merchant will do her first Broadway musical as an associate choreographer.”

Aditya made it clear that he was not directing DDLJ for Broadway. "I'm adapting it as Come Fall In Love to tell the story of how powerful love is in unifying cultures, especially today. In 2022, the notion that DDLJ could be adapted to present a vision of diverse cultures coming together in a story that celebrates love and the power it has to unify everyone moves me greatly,” he was quoted as saying.