Indian cinema’s most romantic film ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ (DDLJ) directed by Aditya Chopra has completed 25 years recently. It was released on 20th October 1995 in theatres. This love story of lead characters Raj and Simran played by the charming Shah Rukh Khan and classy Kajol respectively gave fans a lot of everlasting memories.
Raj and Simran – These Characters Became Part Of Us
The characters of Raj and Simran were poles apart. They say opposites attract. Raj was cool and funny with strong Indian values. Whereas Simran was strong headed and modern despite coming from a conservative background. If you would have paid attention, Simran tells Raj to run away and get married. But Raj is more emotional and cares more for the family. He wants everyone’s blessings and happiness for the marriage. His character was so attractive. We can find Raj and Simran in our colleges and corporate workplaces in India.
The Popularity of ‘DDLJ’
This movie was loved by both masses and classes in all parts of the country wholeheartedly. Music by Jatin-Lalit was a huge hit. Even today the music of the film is remembered. “Tujhe Dekha To” has attained cult status. The jacket and cap worn by Raj in the film also was hugely popular. The film became one of the biggest All-Time blockbusters of Indian Cinema and had still been running in Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai before lockdown. This film can possibly run forever because it has that freshness even today. It is such a kind of flick that makes you fall in love with it but also in our real lives.
My Early Memories
I watched it on video cassette for the first time after it had released. But I got to watch the film again in Shiva theatre in Bangalore during my 10th Standard in 1997. Today films are about first weekend collections or first week collections at the box office. During those periods, the films used to run for 100 Days, 25 Weeks, 50 Weeks and over that. We used to have Silver Jubilee and Golden Jubilee celebrations. This generation of cinema lovers have missed that. The magic of ‘DDLJ’ can be witnessed in theatres better.
My Favourite Scenes
– Where Raj starts talking to God in the church
– Where Raj and his father, played by the talented Anupam Kher, after he fails in his college examination is super funny. We wish to have more Dads like Anupam Kher’s character in real lives.
– The first meeting between Raj and Simran at the railway station where he picks her inside the train. This has been romantically shot.
– The scenes between Raj and Simran’s father played by late Amrish Puri with pigeons in India, are highlights of the film.
– The scene where Simran’s mother played by Farida Jalal comes to know about Raj and the conversation between them is full of warmth and emotions.
– The scenes between Raj and Preeti played by Mandira Bedi are also cute.
Aditya Chopra’s Directorial Debut
‘DDLJ’ was the debut film of director Aditya Chopra. The son of Yash Chopra did a great job as a filmmaker. It is hard to find faults in the film in any departments and it is so perfect that one would not like to change anything. Cinematography by Manmohan Singh raised the bar for Hindi films during those times. The film had an interesting action scene in the climax at the railway station between Shah Rukh Khan and Parmeet Sethi. Kajol was brilliant but personally, Shah Rukh Khan stole the show with his charming performance. He made you laugh, cry and love at same time. He was superlative at emotional scenes also. Instead of falling in love with the heroine, I fell in love with the hero. The magic of ‘DDLJ’ will never wane.
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