Salman Khan made a cameo in Rajkumar Santoshi's Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. Salman Khan's casting was significant as Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif's real-life romance blossomed on the set of this film. Darshan Jariwala, who played Ranbir Kapoor's father in the film, witnessed the budding “chemistry” between Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.
Recalling the days of shooting, senior actor Darshan Jariwala told Siddharth Kannan, “How does an actor collect his source of inspiration? It's from his life and people around him. So, what the actor has been going through in real life, that reflects on screen too. So, we spent 40 days together in Ooty for the shoot. There was chemistry between them.”
Darshan Jariwala called Salman Khan's casting a masterstroke by the director. In the film, Katrina was shown as a Salman Khan fan and she visits one of his shoots.
At the time, Ranbir Kapoor was in a relationship with Deepika Padukone, and Salman Khan with Katrina Kaif. Siddharth asked Darshan Jariwala about the ambience on the shoot when Salman Khan came for the shoot.
“The scene was shot in a crowded place. Ranbir Kapoor was supremely confident of his craft,” Jariwala said.
Asked about Salman Khan, he said, “Salman is destiny's child. He came. That's the big thing for him. He's a superstar. And he was playing Salman Khan in the film. He's gazing over his fans. That's his aura.”
Released on 6 November 2009, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani was a critical and commercial success with a worldwide gross of ₹106.73 crore, becoming the third-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2009. It is an unofficial remake of the 2005 Telugu film Soggadu. Ranbir Kapoor, Zakir Hussain and Upen Patel played lead roles in the film.
