Development Prior to the production of
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995),
Aditya Chopra had begun writing
Mohabbatein as his intended directorial debut. However, he considered the subject matter of
Mohabbatein too mature for a first film and instead made
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge his debut, postponing
Mohabbatein to be his second directorial project. Chopra briefly considered making a thriller for his sophomore film, but ultimately returned to
Mohabbatein, explaining: "I realised that there is something in that story that keeps drawing me to it, so one day I just shut my thriller file and casually picked up my [...]
Mohabbatein file—that one simple action decided my second film for me." Writing resumed following the release of
Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), with Chopra aiming to explore themes beyond conventional romance. Chopra presented the story to his father, producer
Yash Chopra, who was impressed and agreed to produce the film under the
Yash Raj Films banner. In an interview with
Screen, Yash Chopra described the project as “a modern film, a film about today,” adding that it upheld Indian values while appealing to a broad audience.
Casting Amitabh Bachchan was cast in
Mohabbatein during a period of financial failure. Deeply in debt, he walked to Chopra's house and said, "Look, I don't have a job, nobody is giving me work anymore, my movies aren't working, and I've come to ask you to please give me a film to work in." Chopra immediately offered him a role in
Mohabbatein, a role which would reboot Bachchan's career. With Bachchan cast, Aditya Chopra envisioned
Mohabbatein with
Shah Rukh Khan and
Aishwarya Rai in lead roles. He stated that he could not imagine other actors portraying those characters.
Aamir Khan was offered the role of Raj Aryan but turned it down before Shah Rukh took the role without even reading the script.
Kajol was initially considered for the role of Megha but declined due to her recent marriage. To portray the six student characters, Chopra sought out new talent. His brother
Uday Chopra was cast in one of the male lead roles marking his acting debut, and a national search was conducted to find five additional newcomers. The final ensemble included
Shamita Shetty,
Jugal Hansraj,
Kim Sharma,
Jimmy Sheirgill, and
Preeti Jhangiani. Aditya Chopra also wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the film.
Filming Principal photography began on 25 October 1999 and took place primarily in the
United Kingdom. The historic
Longleat estate in
Wiltshire was used to represent the fictional Gurukul boarding school. The cinematography was handled by Manmohan Singh.
Karan Johar designed the costumes for Khan and Bachchan, while
Manish Malhotra styled Rai. Roy designed 13 to 14 distinct sets for the film, including Narayan Shankar’s stone-heavy office, for which she sourced props from
Lohar Chawl in
Mumbai. Filming concluded between August and September 2000. == Music ==