On the eve of completing incredible 1000 weeks run in a single
theatre, the movie ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ was released worldwide once
again last week. I went to witness it once again and re-live the golden magic
of DDLJ. And I was not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie,
partially due to my fading memory, as I had seen it in theatre before in 1995,
the year it was released.
Following are some of my observations about this epic movie, which
has cemented a place for itself in all-time Bollywood blockbusters.
The on-screen chemistry of SRK and Kajol was mesmerizing. It had a
freshness, youthfulness, romanticism and what not. This pair can easily be
compared with other classic pairs in Bollywood like Raj Kapoor – Nargis, Dilip
Kumar – Vaijayanthimala, Dev Anand – Waheeda Rehman, Rajesh Khanna – Mumtaz and
Amitabh Bchchan – Rekha.
The entire star cast has now changed with times. 20 years has
changed a lot. Sadly, Yash Chopra and Amrish Puri are no more. Kajol is a happy
mom with two kids. SRK is struggling to keep his stardom alive. Mandira Bedi,
almost a newcomer in the movie, has come and gone into oblivion. Karan Johar,
who played a cameo as sidekick of SRK, has established himself as a premium
filmmaker.
The film does not have a single kissing scene. This tells us about
how the society has changed in the last twenty years. As the years progressed,
in the name of being advanced or progressive, the sensuality has been lost
somewhere.
The film has a dialogue, ‘Bade bade shahron me aisi chhoti chhoti
baten hoti raheti hai.’ This dialogue
had put RR Patil in serious trouble and cost him his home minister ship when he
had wrongly used it after the tragic terror attack in Mumbai In 2006. However,
this dialogue was deeply honored when Barack Obama mentioned it in one of his
speeches during his recent visit to India.
The audience mainly comprised of people in their forties and
fifties, some of them with their young children. The elders were excited to
re-live the magic while the children were excited to see their parents
thrilled. Conspicuously, there were no youngsters-in-groups in the movie hall.
This could be because they might have seen this movie on television many times
or simply, they do not value it enough to watch in theatre.
This was a cult movie, which later gave birth to several remakes
with selective portions of the movie. It was very easy to relate some portions
of this movie with plots and sub-plots of movies released subsequently, for
several years. In that respect, it has retained its freshness and originality,
even after twenty years.
In the last minute of the film, when Amrish Puri leaves the grip
of Kajol’s hand and says in his deep voice, ‘Ja Simran Ja … jee le apni zindagi…’
it was as if the whole world had accepted the concept of true love. It shows a
victory of love over everything else. If Yash Chopra has earned the title of ‘King
of Romance’, then this film surely marks an important landmark in his achieving
this coveted title for himself.
Overall, it was a great experience. I came home satisfied that I
had enjoyed once again a masterpiece of a movie, which had stood the test of
time. A whole new generation had grown up in Mumbai by watching its morning
show in Maratha Mandir.
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