DDLJ by SHRESTHA

Aasish Shrestha

Review #3

DDLJ

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was directed by newcomer at the time (1995), Aditya Chopra, and stars newcomers Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. Who would’ve thought, especially the three of them, that the movie would go on to become the biggest Indian film of all time. SRK plays Raj, a spoiled, first generation, twenty-something Indian, who was raised in London. He is very uncultured and the only failing student in the London University. Though he is an immature, annoying, drinking and lying rascal, he is a great athlete and musician and can be really charming. Then there is Simran, who is also a first generation Indian raised in London, but is the exact opposite of Raj. She is religious, respectful of her parents, and well cultured. She is the ideal daughter in the eyes of her typical Indian parents, especially the patriarch of the house, her “Bauji.” He is Simran’s super strict and serious father who works in a convenience store. However, they are still very well off. Unlike Bauji, Raj’s dad, “Pops”, who is apparently a millionaire living in London, is a super cool father whose relationship with Raj is like beer drinking buddies. Anyways, Raj and Simran meet in the railway station where they’re both traveling across Europe with friends. After they meet, the two are inseparable. Raj is a flirty playboy who doesn’t leave Simran’s side, while Simran is the mature one who is annoyed and wants to avoid Raj. After missing their train, the two are left alone in a journey of newfound love. The two see the good in each other and fall for one another. Raj becomes the man of Simran’s dreams and after falling in love with the “ideal Indian girl,” Raj begins his transformation into maturity and becomes the ‘dilwale.’ However, Simran’s marriage was already pre-arranged by her Bauji to a guy she’s never seen before. And Bauji turns furious to the point where he makes his family move back to his hometown of Punjab in India after he finds out about Simran’s affair. The dilwale Raj follows Simran and even gets well acquainted with Simran and her fiancé’s family. His charm and charisma wins everyone over to the point where they consider him family. Simran pleads Raj to taker her away but he refuses to elope. He believes that her stern father will eventually willingly give him his daughter’s hand. Raj and Simran continue to secretly meet during her wedding festivities, but Simran’s mom catch them together one night. Simran’s mother realizes that Raj is Simran’s true love and does not want her to sacrifice her life like she did. She too asks them to elope, but Raj gives her mom the same speech about winning his bride rather than stealing her away from her family. Raj thinks he knows what he is doing until Bauji finds out about him and Simran. Everyone is furious with Raj and Simran’s fiancé and his gang assault Raj at the train station, after Bauji strike him several times and order him to leave. However, since Raj is the hero, he overpowers Simran’s fiancé’s gang and beats them to a bloody mess. He is stopped by Bauji, and then as Raj prepares to leave, Simran tries to run after him until Bauji stops her. A couple of minutes after Simran’s pleading to let her go with Raj, Bauji finally lets her go, declaring that no one will ever love her as much as Raj. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge translates to ‘The Lover/Brave-heart/Big-hearted will take/win the bride,’ which explains the ending with the lover Raj leaving with Simran as his bride.

The Indianness in the movie is well constructed. Bauji is a protective father who lives in London, but keeps the heart of India alive. Pops, another Indian living abroad, yearns to return back home, which he considers, “my country, my soil.” He also states at one point to not “let the clothes fool you,” and that he is “Indian at heart.” This is reminiscent of Raj Kapoor’s dialogue in Shree 420. Raj is an immature and uncultured rascal in the first part of the film, but he becomes this mature and intellectual citizen right after he arrives in India. He also explains to Simran several times that eloping would be un-Indian and the right way to perform every action is the Hindustani way. Religion isn’t a major aspect in the film since both the hero and heroine are Hindus. Simran is seen praying and singing to a Hindu god and Bauji is also seen praying to a Lakshmi idol in his store. Their family is religious and well cultured; they are still practicing their Hindu rituals and maintaining their Indian culture while living abroad. The only other religious scene in the film was the church scene in Europe, but I think this was just part of the plot and setting. Like the scenery of Europe, Raj thinks of Simran as pretty, pure and untainted. He respects her honor as a Hindustani woman and didn’t take advantage of her innocence. He showed not only respect for Simran, but for the Indian women in her when he decided to fast with her on Kurwa Chauth. The women in DDLJ were portrayed as submissive and obedient. Simran’s mom had spent her life sacrificing her desires and aspiration in the name of her family, either as a daughter, a sister, or wife. Her education was cut short since she was becoming a woman and had other responsibilities and had an arranged marriage as well. Simran’s faith was similar to her mother and all the women in her family. However, Simran’s mom understood where her daughter’s heart was and that Simran wouldn’t have to go through with the sacrifices that she made. This is similar to what Raj’s dad told him in the beginning of the film. Raj’s dad had spent his entire life working so hard that his youth vanished before his eyes; therefore, he wanted his son Raj to live his life for him and do all the things that he missed out on.

The soundtrack to DDLJ is one of the best in bollywood history. Every single song in the movie is catchy and memorable. I consider all the songs to be classic. Award winning songs like Mehendi Laga Re Rakhna and Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam are typical bollywood songs where the hero and heroine can interact and perform in a dance sequence. The song Ghar Aaja Pardesi is an important song because it depicts the theme of the movie in its lyrics. The song is targeted towards all Indians living abroad to return back home. The song represents people like Bauji’s desire to return to his motherland and how much he misses his family, his people, and his home. Everything about this movie is great, from the songs to the dialogues to the performances. I though everyone in the film did an amazing job. SRK and Kajol nailed their parts. I don’t think anyone in the world could play Raj and Simran like they did. Everything was perfect; this is the perfect bollywood movie.