This was the first film of Dharma Productions' "Dulhania" romantic comedy franchise. It was followed by its spiritual successor "Badrinath Ki Dulhania" (2017). Both films were written and directed by Shashank Khaitan and featured Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt in lead roles.[1]
The film's plot had many similarities with the very popular romantic drama "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (1995) starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. It also had several references to the film including a scene in which Varun Dhawan's titular character tearfully watches on TV the famous climax of "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (1995). Producer Karan Johar called the film "an ode to DDLJ".[2][3]
This was Shashank Khaitan's directorial debut. It was also the Hindi film debut of the television actor Sidharth Shukla.
Two version songs - an unplugged version and a remix - were not part of the film's original music release. They were added separately as singles.
Varun Dhawan was shooting for director Sriram Raghavan's "Badlapur" (2015) around the same time as this film. Inspired by Raghavan's advice to employ method acting for "Badlapur" (2015), Dhawan decided to try the technique for two scenes in this film. The actor actually got drunk for the film's climactic scene in which his character gets drunk. It was reported that Dhawan got so drunk that he had to be physically supported by the film's crew.[4]
Song
Saturday Saturday - This was Sharib - Toshi's recreation of a song originally recorded by Badshah & The Titans. The original song was sung by Indeep Bakshi and Badshah. The recreated version featured additional vocals by Akriti Kakar and additional lyrics by Kumaar.[5]
Main Tenu Samjhawan Ki - This was Sharib - Toshi's recreated version of a song from the Indo-Pakistani Punjabi-language film "Virsa" (2010). The original song was sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.[6]
