The film is said to be a loose adaptation of Maitreyi Devi’s semi-autobiographical Bengali novel Na Hanyate.
The love triangle about a husband reuniting his wife with her lover is compared to the one in Woh 7 Din, a 1983 film starring Anil Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah and Padmini Kolhapure,
Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, and Akshay Kumar were all considered for the role of Vanraj. It finally went to Ajay Devgn.
This was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s second film with Salman Khan. They’d first worked together on Khamoshi: The Musical (1996).
The film sparked a real-life romance between Salman and Aishwarya Rai, who dated till 2001 before breaking up.
The film was shot along the Gujarat-Rajasthan border near Kutch.
The second-half was filmed in Budapest, Hungary, which was used to represent Italy.
Sameer’s habit of looking at the sky and talking to his dead father comes from Bhansali's own childhood.
In the wedding scene, Sameer tells Nandini that she acts as if she is Miss World. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was actually Miss World in 1994.
Salman and his step-mother Helen played mother and son in the film. This was their first appearance together.
The late Zohra Sehgal played Nandini’s grandmother in the film. She worked with Bhansali again on Saawariya (2007), her final role.
Due to a chandelier accident on set, Aishwarya danced to Nimbooda with swollen feet.
Salman, in an old interview, had confessed wanting a different ending for the film.
“If I had made Hum Dil Chuke Sanam, I would have let (Nandini) go with the guy she loved,” the actor was quoted as saying.
He also said: “Sanjay Leela Bhansali told me that he wanted a depressive high. But frankly, I feel that love is above all traditions. But if you are making a traditional film, then f*** love.'
HDDCS (which put that way sounds like a bank) won four National awards, including Best Production Design, Best Music Direction, Best and Best Cinematography - Anil Mehta.
At the 2000 Filmfare awards , HDDCS won 9 awards, including Best Film, Director and Actress.
Composer Ismail Darbar received the RD Burman Filmfare award for his work.
The film was originally titled Dil To Humne Diya Sanam.
It was released internationally as Straight From the Heart.
The film was remade in Bengali as Neel Akasher Chandni (2009), with Jeet, Jisshu Sengupta and Koel Mallick.
Bhansali later reunited with Aishwarya on Devdas (2002) and Salman on Saawariya (2007).
Salman and Bhansali were meant to work together on Inshallah. The film was shelved last year.
The film was premiered in the Indian Panorama section at the 1999 International Film Festival of India.
The film, made on a budget of 16 crores, made 51.4 crores at the box office.
