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16 years ago today… Revisiting ‘Duplicate’

'Duplicate' starring Shah Rukh Khan & Juhi Chawla
'Duplicate' starring Shah Rukh Khan & Juhi Chawla

Release Date: 8th May 1998

Director: Mahesh Bhatt

*ing: Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Sonali Bendre

As far as double role love stories go, ��Duplicate�۪ was one which fared quite poorly at the all-important box office. However, the film�۪s cast were seen in London for promotions back then which is something of the norm today. The film saw Khan playing lookalikes, with the classic comparison of good and bad between them.

Khan played Bablu and Manu. Bablu starts work as a chef at a hotel where he meets Sonia (Chawla). He eventually convinces her to go on a date with him. However, while they are dining, Bablu is captured by the police who believe him to be Manu, his criminal twin. Then starts a battle for Bablu to prove that he is not Manu and Manu�۪s attempt to take on Bablu�۪s ��better�۪ identity by killing him, much to the confusion of his wife (Farida Jalal) and girlfriend, Lily (Bendre).

Khan mania was upon the world during this time as he was a sought after actor which has huge crowds of fans. Chawla, too, was a well-known heroine and Bendra was somewhat a new but popular actress in her own right. The music of the film composed by none other than Anu Malik included the hugely popular Mere Mehboob Mere Sanam and also some David Dhawan-esque music such as Wah Ji Wah and Ek Shararat Hone Ko Hai which saw Khan at his innocent and clumsy comic best. This was in contrast to his villainous and romantic roles portrayed in the films in the years previously

Directed by Mahesh Bhatt and produced by Dharma Productions, the film was yet another notch in the jodi of Khan and Chawla. Understandly, the film didn�۪t fare too well because the plot was a little confusing and messy but this didn�۪t mean any one of the main actors were any less the craze they were before it.

Today, as it celebrates it�۪s 16 years since its release, Khan can look back and mark the film which was his very first in joining hands with Yash Johar and Dharma Productions. Surely, there should be no looking back!