Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a movie almost everyone has heard about atleast once in their life.
How could one not have heard about it? This movie broke records and gave us so many iconic scenes and dialogues which are still heard on tv screens and in theatres. Even Barack Obama once said ” Senorita, Bade bade deshon me choti choti baatein hoti rehti hai.” quoting one of the very famous dialogues from the movie.
DDLJ has left a mark on the people since the day it was released. It didn’t have the typical Indian dramatic vibe. This film gave us the infamous “Jaa Simran Jaa, Jee le apni zindaagi” and the train scene still used in so many movies till date and the “Raj, Agar woh tumse pyaar karti hai toh woh ek baar palat ke dekhegi…Palat…Palat…Palat.” which still gives the audience butterflies the moment they see Simran turn around.
It was one of the first films to explore beyond just the hero, heroine and the villain perimeters. The film explored something beyond the hype of remakes of popular films from the south, the typical family dramas and the action packed thrillers which were seen a lot in the 90s, this film gave Bollywood a chance to look forward to what Romcoms can offer and it was the turning point for Bollywood and their approach towards Romantic comedies. The producers of big production houses started looking at simpler stories without much of action and started releasing a spree of romcoms inspired by the film.
The film followed Raj and Simran, two polar opposites, one who’s seen as an easy going and carefree rich boy and the other being a strong, confident and don’t mess with me girl cross paths on a trip and how they are stuck with each other and fall in love without realising and later on fighting for each other. It was refreshing to see a female character have a life and travel along with her friends and be independent and a character most girls were able to relate to without being a damsel in distress and that was rarely shown in the movies around that time.
Although later the father of the girl becomes the apparent villain the story would want. This movie had people falling in love with the two characters and how love changed them. In the end however after they went through so many ups and downs, the couple did end up together proving how true love can conquer everything.
This film also went ahead and gave the world one of the most beautiful onscreen pairing, Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, who later went on to star in many movies together dazzling the viewers with their chemistry.
Bollywood opened up to go ahead and make other romcoms like Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and many others, most of them coming from YRF films after it’s success. This film certainly opened up opportunities for audience to explore more than the drama they were used to.
The Locations in this film are aesthetically pleasant to watch, the beautiful green lands of Switzerland, snowy mountains of Gstaad, the lush yellow green mustard fields of Haryana and the pretty streets of London which also made the songs “Tujhe Dekha Toh” and “Zaara sa jhoom loon” more iconic then they already were. This film is still refreshing to watch as ever and today it marks the 25th anniversary of this iconic film which immortalised Raj and Simran’s story in our minds and hearts forever.
