DDLJ’@30: Love story tethered to tradition still rekindles romance, and starts them too
New Delhi (PTI): Can a film age like fine wine, mellow and satiny smooth, be recalled wistfully whenever you think of romance, yet sit uneasily with contemporary times? “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” is that contradiction – a much loved film cast in a conservative-patriarchal mould but one still finding takers in this age of swipe right and swipe left.
“Come fall in love" was the tagline of the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer that released 30 years ago on October 20, 1995. And people did. They still do, some rekindling an old romance and others perhaps starting one.
The love story, about two London-bred youngsters who fall in love but won’t get married until they get parental consent, marked the directorial debut of Aditya Chopra. Unfolding in lush Swiss meadows and snow-capped mountains and moving to Punjab’s mustard fields, it went on to become one of the greatest hits of Indian cinema and is still being screened in Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir.
Out of sync in the age of dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge, the story centres around Raj, a carefree, rich boy who falls in love with Simran when they meet on a European holiday.
Simran is enjoying the last bit of teen freedom before she travels to Punjab to marry a man she has never met and one her strict father Chaudhary Baldev Singh has chosen for her. Lovelorn Raj follows her there with the promise to win over her father.
Couples, young and old, come to the theatre even today to watch the romance, sepia tinted maybe but still fresh and gentle, said Manoj Desai, executive director of Maratha Mandir.
On weekdays, about 70 to 100 people come to watch the movie in the 11:30 am show. On weekends, the number goes up to 200-300, according to Desai.
The ticket prices for the movie are Rs 50 for balcony seat and Rs 30 for dress circle.
According to film historian SMM Ausaja, “DDLJ”, as the film came to be known, struck a chord at the time because there was a saturation of David Dhawan-Govinda comedies.
"It was a landmark film in terms of romance, music, brilliant dialogues, iconic scenes including the train sequence. Performances were top class, and had a crackling onscreen chemistry of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. No film has been able to recreate this kind of magic in the romantic space," Ausaja told PTI.
The enduring love story, set against close knit families, boisterous patriarchs and nostalgia for ‘mera desh’, is coded in the memory of cinema-lovers.
With an ensemble cast that included Farida Jalal, Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher and Parmeet Sethi, it’s the perfect mélange of songs, dialogues, costumes and scenes, quoted endlessly for three decades and counting.
Its songs "Tujhe dekha to ye jaana sanam", "Mehndi laga ke rakhna", "Ruk jaa...", "Mere khwabo mein...", "Ho gaya hai tujhko to pyaar sajna" live on. So do the dialogues – you may or may not have seen the film but you are likely to remember “Bade bade deshon mein, aisi baatein hoti rahti hain Senorita...", the "Palat" moment when Raj wills Simran to turn around and of course the "Jaa Simran ja, jee le apni zindagi", the final acceptance from the crusty father to his daughter.
Aditya Chopra wrote the film with Javed Siddiqui while Manmohan Singh served as the cinematographer and Jatin Pandit and Lalit Pandit composed the music for it. The film was edited by Keshav Naidu. The team couldn't have come together better,
“DDLJ”, like “Sholay”, came at the right time, said Ausaja.
"That film triggered the so-called NRI movies. It happens once in a lifetime. The film cemented Shah Rukh’s status as a top movie star. It was like what ‘Deewar’ was for Amitabh Bachchan. The way family values were celebrated it worked big time with people across all demographics," the historian said.
The film has legions of fans in every walk of life and directors down the years have doffed their hats to various moments from the film, including the famous train scene when Raj stretches his hand out to Simran, to pull her into a tight embrace – their ‘happily ever after’.
According to Hitesh Kewalya, director of same-sex love story "Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan", referencing "DDLJ" made his film more relatable to the people. "When the time came to write 'Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan', I was thinking about all the classic love stories that we have seen in our Hindi cinema. And it came naturally to me that if I have to tell a love story about two men who love each other, then DDLJ would be the reference point of that,” he said.
Every scene and prop in the movie -- the brown jacket in the 'palat' scene, the mandolin and the cowbell that Simran hangs outside her London home for Raj to find before she leaves for Punjab -- has a little story.
The jacket was a favourite of Aditya Chopra. The first time director wanted to use the mandolin as he was a big Raj Kapoor fan and the cowbell, though bought in Switzerland, was a way to honour Yash Chopra's Punjabi roots.
Kajol, just 21 when she played arguably most famous role of the rebellious yet traditional NRI reconciled to marrying a stranger, doesn’t believe the magic can be recreated.
"I think that if today you had to make a film, you would have to make it like 'DDLJ', but it will never be 'DDLJ'. It will have to be different. And once you change people, the atmosphere, you will have to adapt the story to the current times, society and thought processes. And that changes the entire language of the film. So you will have to create your own magic," she told PTI recently.
As people continue to file into a darkened theatre to watch “DDLJ” or watch it on their screens at home, the romance endures. Mystifying for some. But then that is the magic of the movies.
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Protests against Khamenei's killing: Curbs remain in force in Kashmir
Srinagar (PTI): Strict restrictions remained imposed in many areas of Kashmir for the third consecutive day on Wednesday following massive protests across the valley against the killing of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, officials said.
As a precautionary measure, the government shut educational institutions till Saturday, while mobile internet speed continued to remain throttled.
"Restrictions on the movement and assembly of the people continued in many parts of Kashmir on Wednesday," the officials said.
They said strict restrictions were being enforced especially in the parts having large Shia population and those areas which have witnessed massive protests over the last three days.
A large number of police and paramilitary CRPF personnel were deployed across the city to prevent gatherings of protestors, the officials said.
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They added that concertina wires and barricades were placed at important intersections leading into the city, while asserting that these were precautionary measures imposed to maintain law and order.
The iconic Ghanta Ghar in the city centre of Lal Chowk here continued to remain a no-go zone after the authorities sealed area with barricades erected all around it on late Sunday night.
The move to seal the Ghanta Ghar came after it witnessed massive protests on Sunday after Khamenei's assassination in the joint air strikes by the US and Israel.
This is the first time since August 2019 that protests on such a large scale have taken place in Kashmir.
The government had first ordered the closure of schools, colleges and universities for two days. However, on Tuesday it decided to close the educational institutions till Saturday as a precautionary measure in view of the protests.
Mobile internet speeds continued to remain throttled while some prepaid mobile connections were also barred, the officials added.
On Tuesday, protests rocked several places in the valley, including Sumbal and Pattan areas of North Kashmir.
In Sumbal of Bandipora district, security forces had to resort to force to disperse the demonstrators.
Some media outlets and individuals, including National Conference Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, and former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu, faced police heat for allegedly circulating misleading information.
A case was filed against Mehdi and Mattu under BNS sections 197(1)(d) and 353(1)(b) at Cyber Police Station, Srinagar, for allegedly circulating "false, fabricated and misleading content" on digital and social media platforms.
"The content in question, prima facie, reflects the dissemination of distorted narratives and unverified information capable of causing public unrest and societal disharmony. Such deliberate attempts to spread misinformation pose a serious threat to peace, security, and overall stability," the police said in a statement.
Both have been condemning the killing of Khameinei and the attacks by the US and Israel on Iran.
However, hours after the registration of the case, Mehdi, an influential Shia leader, said he would not be deterred from speaking the truth.
"The people of Srinagar did not elect their MP to recite government-approved condolences. They elected him to speak truth. That mandate does not expire with an FIR," he said in a post on X.
Police has issued an appeal to people to refrain from violence and provocation.
"We appeal to all sections of the society to exercise restraint and refrain from violence and provocation," it said.
Police said they will take strict legal action against instigators of violence and those involved in unlawful activities.
On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha directed officials to be on high alert and chaired a meeting of top officials of the police and army here.
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"Chaired a meeting of senior police & civil administration officials at the Police Control Room, Kashmir, to review the law and order situation. Directed the officers to remain on heightened alert and take all necessary measures to ensure public peace and tranquillity," Sinha said on X.
He appealed to the people and community leaders to maintain peace.
"I also appeal to the citizens and community leaders to uphold harmony and contribute to an atmosphere of calm and goodwill in society. Preserving peace and sustaining the progress of society is a shared responsibility that rests equally upon each one of us," he said.
