Lagaan - Sabrina Lee

Sabrina Lee

Laura Brueck

Lagaan Review

April 11^th, 2010

Imagining Colonial India in Film

The imagination of Lagaan seems to be another Indian take on the 'classic' western film formula: in this case, the sports drama. However, this movie is more interesting in that it sets the sports drama of the rag-tag team of strange, simple people into the backdrop of imperialism and colonialism in the era of British dominance. The characters are mostly well thought out, but they lack any real development beyond the gimmick they're known for that applies to the team in some positive way. Cricket is also the major story behind this film, and it is written in as the major connection between all walks of Indian life, and importantly within the community. The scenes where the representatives of other communities join to defend the idea of India as a nation are supposed to be more meaningful, and more clearly a sign of nationalism and togetherness around cricket, where in other films the existence of the nation is more important, this film is set in a colonial time, so their simple village resistance as a cricket team is what has to stand in for the nation, as well as Bhuvan himself. The fact that one of the British officers notes, “This country has a brilliant future in this game!” is indicative of this ideal, given the fact at this point in time, the vanguard of the Queen would not have a conception of the subcontinent as a country at all, or it becoming one any time soon. The fact he even says something like that is pure nationalist pride at a modern greatness in the sport that constantly dominates the UK's teams.

Another interesting point of the film comes when the great betrayal occurs. The village, dominated by Hindus, seems to even be segregated from the other communities, yet somehow, they /allow/ the Muslims and the Sikh to play, but ultimately, it is not a member (more likely) of the Hindu community that betrays them to the village, but a member of the Muslim community. I was not happy with that point of the film, as it could just as easily be an allegory for feelings about the Muslims during the partition, or in a more shallow sense simply an underhanded stab at that community. The Sikh is portrayed as more even-handed, but each member of the community is oddly represented outside of the Hindu social normality. Once the Dalit is allowed to play, and not speak out for his own, his value only comes in serving the needs of a high born Hindu who has to condescend to let him fight for a village he will never be able to own, and a life he won't be able to have even if a fleeting victory in Cricket gives him a cruel taste of something they seem to deny him, and one assumes, will continue to deny after they are free of the land tax, the tax of his life is constant. Overall, this movie was fun to watch despite typical nationalist messages embedded in the fight against colonialism. It displays how the contemporary Indian can imagine a time where the nation was something of the imagination and more or less what the British created : a collection of kingdoms to set against one another so control can be maintained, and various benefits both social and economic could be reaped with less problems. Cricket as an institution is however, in this film something that notes a grass roots resistance to the British, and a thing they make wholly Indian and of their class not just a sign of upper class privilege, another fun note while they struggle to free themselves playing what will be the lifeblood of entertainment across India in the years before and well after the actual formation of the nation state.

Lagaan

Laine Bulakites

HNDI 2441

April 12^th 2010

Lagaan Review

The Oscar Nominated Hindi film Lagaan, directed by Ashutosh Gowarkir, is definitely a film to be remembered. The film’s tagline is “Once upon a time in India,” and takes place in the late 1800’s, when the British ruled India. The story revolves around Aamir Khan’s character, Bhuvan, and his struggle to overcome the British Empire’s unjust double tax.

Bhuvan is a small-village boy with an extremely large heart. When he and the rest of the village find out that the British have imposed double tax (despite the drought) they march up to their fort and ask for the tax to be taken away until next year. Captain Andrew Russell (Paul Blackthorne) agrees to take away the tax for three entire years if the villagers can beat his team in a game of cricket. However, it comes with a catch. If the villagers lose, they not only have to pay the tax, they have to pay it in triple.

It takes a lot of convincing from Bhuvan, but eventually he ends up with a team of eleven players. They practice every day, and with the help of the Captain’s sister, Elizabeth (Rachel Shelly), they become a decent team. However, they did not expect the British to play the way that they did.

When the first day of the cricket match arrived, Captain Andrew Russell and his team played extremely well. Bhuvan’s team had to learn to quickly adapt to their different way of playing cricket and had to figure out ways to overcome the strength of the British team. The match goes on for two more days, and finally, it’s down to the bone. By some sort of miracle, Bhuvan’s team pulls off a victory. The first rain comes, the village evades their taxes for the next three years, and Captain Andrew Russell is sent to Africa for his bad behavior.

Lagaan was extremely successful when it first came out. There were a couple of reasons for this – one being that there was actually a major drought going on at the time. In addition to that, cricket is one of India’s only successful sports, one that both the masses and the elite can enjoy.

There was one part of the movie that especially stood out: the scene where Bhuvan makes the speech about letting the Untouchable play on their team because of his ability to spin the ball. This is one of the very rare occasions that caste and Untouchable’s are ever mentioned in Hindi films, so it’s an extremely memorable moment. However, even though Bhuvan’s speech seems very empowering at first, there’s more to it at a closer look. Bhavan is only allowing the Untouchable to play cricket with them because of his unique ability. He doesn’t even ask the Untouchable if he wants to be on the team, even though because of his low caste, the tax would not affect him.

Lagaan also has a major David vs. Goliath/East vs. West theme going on. India is seen as David, and Britain as the cruel Goliath. Knowing the story of David vs. Goliath it comes as no surprise that the villagers overcome their oppressor.

Even though Captain Andrew Russell was the villain of the film, he was definitely my favorite character. His character was very entertaining and I couldn’t wait to find out what cruel thing he would do next. It was never boring when the Captain was on screen.

The soundtrack of the film was also very good. The rain song, “Ghanana Ghanana” was a very spectacular song and scene. The songs were very well incorporated into the film and never felt out of place or thrown in for no reason.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie Lagaan. The acting was good, the story was good, and the songs were good. It was very entertaining and the audience definitely felt for the village people and I’m sure this movie made many people sit on the edge of their seats during the heated cricket game.

Rachel Newsham

Screening India

Professor Brueck

12 April, 2010

Film Review for Lagaan

Lagaan, or “tax,” is a stirring film that brings up many controversial themes and social issues within Indian history. As the title and historical setting of the film indicates, the main plot of the film is centered on British imperialism in Colonial India. The villagers of a small town called Champener have been ordered to pay double taxes regardless of the two-year long drought. The local monarch, Raja Puran Singh, appeals to the British Captain Russell Andrews on behalf of the villagers who cannot even afford to pay the normal amount of taxes, but his plea falls on a heart of stone. Rather than empathizing with the plight of the villagers, the audience finds Captain Russell as indifferent and overbearing.

The villagers, unaware of the previous appeals made by Raja Singh on their behalf, come to present their case before him and are told that they will have to wait until the British officers have finished playing a cricket match. Captain Russell overhears the villager’s petition of Raja Singh and comes up with a plan he deems to be infallible. If the villagers are able to assemble a cricket team and beat the British officers in a three day long cricket match, then he will cancel taxes for the next three years throughout the entire province. However, if the villager’s team is defeated, their taxes will be tripled. Captain Russell directs this challenge at Bhuvan, the young rebellious star of the show who had been caught earlier in the film scaring away the deer Captain Russell was trying to hunt. Despite the warnings from the other villagers, Bhuvan accepts the challenge.

Although his acceptance of Russell’s terms were met with fury by the villagers in the beginning, Bhuvan, with the help of his sweetheart Gauri, is able to win over the support of the other villagers and construct a team of eleven players. With the help of Elizabeth, Captain Russell’s sister who acts in defiance of her brother’s commands, Bhuvan’s team is able to learn how to play the game of cricket. In a fight to free their village from the tyrannical rule of the British, these eleven players defy all odds by defeating the British team and disposing Captain Russell from his position. Although this film is largely focused on the issue of British oppression during the colonial period, it also incorporates themes of nationalism, the importance of religion, and the concept of love in Bollywood films.

Bhuvan, as the ideal Hindi hero, is able to build up a politically correct cricket team that includes a variety of players in terms of caste, ethnicity, and religion. This construction is a play on the common motif of nationalism in Bollywood films. The team acts as a microcosm of India by overlooking the significant differences of each of the players and, even more controversially, allowing an untouchable to participate, uniting the different citizens of India on terms of a shared sense of nationalism. In the song “Chale Chalo,” Bhuvan emphasizes the need for all Indians to unite in order to conquer their enemy, more specifically the British: “Should one finger rise, it shall break. When five fingers join, they form a fist. Let our unity grow, come on, walk on.” This attitude is reminiscent of Gandhi’s dream: uniting all Indians, regardless of caste, religion and ethnicity, in order to overthrow, or undermine, the British rule and create a stable, unbiased Indian government.

Hindu religion is another significant theme in Lagaan. In the beginning of the film, we watch as the villagers break into song and dance in the expectation of rain. When the clouds pass by without shedding a drop of water, the villagers comment on how it must be a punishment from God. At the end of the film the sky is filled with clouds once again; only this time the result is a heavy rain that is full of promise for the villagers, signifying to them the Lord’s favor. Their reliance on religion is also depicted in the song “O Paalanhare” in which the villagers come together to cry out to Krishna for his favor and salvation in terms of the cricket match. “Ease our troubles O Lord! We have no one but you.” Religion is an integrated part of the villagers’ lives; affecting they way they think, talk, act and sing.

Carrying on the motif of religion, we enter the interesting dynamic of relationships within the film. In her song “Radha Kaise Na Jale,” Gauri complains that Bhuvan’s relationship with Elizabeth is similar to the tale of Krishna and the lovelorn Gopi in which they meet in a grove making Radha jealous. Bhuvan reassures Gauri that just as Radha was the only flower of love that bloomed in the heart of Krishna, Gauri was the only flower of love that blooms within his own heart. Love plays a significant role in the film: initiating Lakha’s betrayal of the village and Elizabeth’s betrayal of her brother. Because Gauri favors Bhuvan over himself, Lakha becomes a spy for Captain Russell. In the end Lakha does the right thing and returns to support his village teammates, but it came at the price of making the match much more difficult to win. Elizabeth’s love for Bhuvan causes her to go against the will of her brother and provides the team with the much-needed training in cricket. However, because she is a Westerner, her dreams of love can never be realized. I enjoyed watching the playful love story of Bhuvan and Gauri develop, though I was disappointed in the fact that Gauri was not able to join the cricket team and break the boundaries of women’s social status in India. Both Gauri and Bhuvan’s mother carried on the idea of women playing submissive roles in a paternalistic society, a trait central to the idea of women being the upholders of tradition and morality within Indian society.

Although Lagaan is almost four hours in length, it is so captivating that time seems to fly by. It is easy for the audience to identify with the plights of the villagers, and even as a Westerner, I was happy to see the end of Captain Russell’s rule. While each of the songs are catchy and entertaining, they also play a significant part in the movie’s plot, which is somewhat of a diversion from traditional usage of songs in Bollywood films. I thought that the integration of Western actors was interesting. Although I am jealous of her immediate knowledge of the Hindi language, I was disappointed in the shallowness of Elizabeth’s song and even more disappointed that she did not receive a happy ending. All in all, this is a film that I will be putting on my “favorites” list and would gladly recommend it to anyone who is interested in Bollywood films.

Lagaan

Allie Padnos
Screening India
Lagaan film review
4/11/10

Lagaan is a film concerning a small poverty stricken village in India fighting against their annual lagan (tax) reprimanded by the British colony. The villagers are worried because they are in a terrible drought and fear they will not survive especially if they have to pay taxes. Captain Andrew Rusell only cares about the British army and does not understand the extent of poverty in the villages. He enjoys playing trickery games when it comes to the villagers, but for the Hindi’s it’s a matter of life or death. Captain Rusell announces this year the villagers must pay double Lagaan out of his arrogant nonjudgmental character. In response the villagers try to reason with Captain Rusell and find themselves in a terrible predicament after Rusell offers a deceitful gamble to the main character Bhuvan. The offer entailed the following; if the villagers beat the British in a game of Cricket, they would not have to pay taxes for three years, but if they lost the match they would have to pay triple the taxes for the season. The captain knew he had a clear advantage since he thought the Hindi’s were ignorant to his British game. Throughout this film there are reoccurring Bollywood themes of national identity, good versus evil, religion, and class.
Bhuvan displays national pride by accepting the offer, for the betterment of the villagers. Since the villagers are unfamiliar with the British cricket sport, they are outraged with Bhuvan’s decision because they believe they are digging themselves into a deep hole. At first the only support Bhuvan had was from Gauri, the girl who was madly in love with him. Captain Rusell’s sister Elizabeth takes an unexpected stance which did not agree with her brother’s corrupt ideas, resulting in her impulsive interest towards the Hindi culture and her desire to help Bhuvan and his friends learn the game of cricket. The villagers learn about Elizabeth’s help which gave them a sense of hope, and slowly the eleven man cricket team was formed, along with numerous supporters.
The division of class was also a huge theme in this film in two aspects. The first one is obvious, the British and the Hindi’s. The British men and women are depicted as westernized affluent people. They dress in elegant dresses and suits and appear to be extremely classy. On the other hand the villagers are clothed tattered cloths and live a struggling life style. During the month of preparation for the cricket tournament there is another class distinction between the villagers. During a practice the cricket ball moves past the fields boundary and a crippled man picks it up and throws it to Bhuvan. The crippled Hindi threw with his bad arm forcing the ball to spin which brought an amazing interest to Bhuvan, and resulted in wanting the crippled man on the team. The other villagers are very negative against the idea since the man is known as an untouchable, the lowest division on a hierarchy scale. Bhuvan is outraged and explains how they are all Hindi and need to stick together, which displays Hindustani values. The villagers agree with Bhuvan and the class separation is abolished allowing integration and reinforcing Hindi unity.
The cricket match day finally arrives and perseverance, national pride, prayer, and Hindustani values help the villagers defeat the British. The match lasts for a couple days and at first the British have a strong lead, which brings doubt to the villagers. As the game continued things began to look up and in the end Bhuvan and the ‘untouchable’ are the last two teammates who overcome the British and make the win. The symbolization of joy and happiness is accompanied by rain, which ends the drought.
The theme of religion is a motive seen throughout the film of Lagaan. There is one specific instance when Elizabeth is able to watch a Hindi ritual and gets a personal view of the culture. There are many instances when the drought is brought up and was responded by prayer. There is a song in the beginning of the film which represents dance and prayer for rain to come. There are also scenes that take place in the temple of the village, which again demonstrates the amount of religious importance.
The soundtrack is composed of numerous songs that correlate with the plot and are extremely expressive to Bollywood known themes. The songs represent Hindustani values of love, prayer, hope, and an excessive amount of happiness. Despite the horrible position and living conditions the villagers faced, the songs helped them escape their poverty stricken lives and bring strength and courage to overcome their dilemma. Overall the songs incorporate lively dance and singing which maintains Hindustani unity.
Overall I thought Lagaan was an exciting Bollywood film. It displayed a classical plot where good triumphs over evil through a continuous struggle. I thought it was interesting how Elizabeth was interested in Hindi culture and was opposed to the British ideas, because I do not believe we have seen something like this in a Bollywood film yet. From my film experience usually non-Hindi’s are depicted as ignorant and are poked fun at, so this was something completely new and different. It was also interesting to become aware of cricket and how to understand the game. Overall national pride, religion, class, and good versus evil were all themes present throughout the film and the songs helped represent Hindustani ideals as well. Lagaan was a wonderful film that depicted pride and happiness despite the village poverty.

DDLJ

Allie Padnos
Screening India
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge film review
4/4/10

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) is the longest running film ever in India and was the foundation of extending Bollywood into the global industry. The first half of the movie is located in London/Europe. Simran is from a traditional Hindi family who truly values Hindustani beliefs. She is surprisingly granted permission to travel to Europe for a month with friends before moving back to India to fulfill her father’s request of an arranged marriage. Raj is the other main character who is a rowdy mischief-maker that did not graduate from school and lives a more western Diaspora Hindi lifestyle. He is effortlessly given allowance by his father to travel in Europe. DDLJ promoted Diaspora influences by representing management of Indian culture outside the nation state. Throughout DDLJ there are evident reoccurring themes of Diaspora, national identity, gender, and religion.
Simran and Raj meet on their adventurous month of traveling and gradually develop a strong interpersonal romantic relationship. At first Raj’s boisterous personality turns off Simran because of the clear contradicting values of modernity versus tradition. They end up missing the train to their next destination, which forced them to spend alone time with each other. During this period Simran learns more about Raj and begins to develop a liking towards him which eventually turned into love. When the month came to an end they parted each other and went back to their families in London. Simran was gossiping about Raj with her mother while Simran’s strict father was ease-dropping over the conversation. He was furious and announced that the family would move to India the next day and Simran would be married immediately. Simran did not want to be disrespectful but could not let go of the love she had for Raj. Meanwhile, Raj is hung up on his new lover and decides to go find Simran in India once he understood the new stipulations.
There is an important theme of gender in DDLJ, specifically a feministic premise. A feminist view is depicted in the scene where Simran and her mother are talking about Raj. Her mother tells Simran men will always have higher authority because that is Hindi tradition, and told her to she must sacrifice her happiness for the family. Simran agrees to fulfill her mother’s wishes because in reality she would not be able to achieve her goal of marrying Raj. After Raj and Simran found each other in India, Raj befriended Simran’s future husband and became part of the groom’s family throughout the wedding preparation. Simran and Raj’s sneaky behavior slowly unraveled to Simran’s little sister and their mother. Once the mother unintentionally saw the interaction between Simran and Raj she immediately understood the happiness and love the couple shared. She took them aside and disregarded her previous word, by telling the young couple their love appears to be inevitable and gave them permission to run away. Overall the movie transcends interpretations of the role of Hindi women from a traditional gender position to a westernized feministic view.
The second half of the movie is based in India, which demonstrates the pride in the nation state. Simran and Raj are quickly reunited and Simran suggests they run away and elope, but Raj is highly against this idea. For the first time in the film Raj directly expresses his Hindustani pride by refusing to get married without Simran’s father’s blessings. Throughout the film he has the chance to run away with Simran but continuous to disagree with her request in order to fulfill his duty of Hindustani pride. Traditional cultural values are reinforced throughout the movie verbally and nonverbally. The theme of religion is also present throughout the movie since there are numerous scenes of Simran praying which displays traditional values. Since Raj does not seem to understand prayer, he is once again representing a western view, but his willing to pray after he is aware of Simran’s religious activity proves his established Hindustani roots.
Simran and Raj’s deceiving relationship come to an abrupt halt when Simran’s father puts the pieces together and learns what is actually going on. His terrifying voice dismissed Raj and his father, which directed them back to London. Simran is heartbroken and is taken to the station with her mother, where they find Raj fighting with the future groom. The train starts to leave with Raj on board while Simran is hysterically crying in front of her family and friends when her father surprisingly realizes her love she has towards Raj and allows her to jump on the train. Overall this movie positively represents two families Diaspora’s, one representing customary Hindi values while the other depicts Hindustani beliefs through a more western take. Typical Bollywood film themes are directly represented in DDLJ, which are constantly managed and challenged.
The music throughout this film was simply wonderful. There was one song that replayed numerous times throughout the movie which represented Simran and Raj’s love for each other. The songs were sung with joy and were danced with pride and excitement. The songs represented love, national identity pride, culture, and much more. I thought the songs added intimacy of the family unit along with a plausible message of traditional roots. Overall the songs were genuinely authentic and helped illustrate the themes in this film.
I personally enjoyed this film for multiple reasons. I took great interest in the contradicting Hindustani views of tradition versus modernity. I also thought the feminist view added to our dynamic world. Tradition is extremely important, but in most cases it is inevitable to completely uphold all aspects since our world is constantly changing and taking on new ideas. The plot was constructed greatly since it had a deceiving relationship which held suspense. DDLJ is still an extremely popular film in the Bollywood industry and it is clearly understandable why the melodramatic picture maintains its notable status.

Roja

Allie Padnos
Screening India
Roja film review
3/13/10

Roja is a melodramatic patriotic love story which deals with political domestic terrorism. The film redefines a new Indian middle class of clear traditional and modern aspects intertwining together, which can be seen through ideas of secularism, nationalism, and gender. The movie opens up with intense combat between the Indian Army and the Palestinian terrorist in Kashmir, to give the audience a preview of the central issue shown throughout the film. The next scene shifts into a beautiful village, where we find out a city boy Rishi Kumar is planning to visit the village in order to find his wife. After Roja’s sister politely begs for Rishi’s approval of marriage, Rishi turns to Roja to marry and they both move back to the city.
National identity is present throughout the entire film and it’s depicted through the celebration of the new Indian middle class. The first symbol of pride for the nation can be seen through the scene when Rishi is presented with a delicate assignment from his boss to travel to Kashmir. Rishi’s boss apologizes for having to send him so far away and Rishi responds by saying “Kashmir is in India, and to go anywhere in India is part of my job”. This quote shows the devotion Rishi has for India and displays heroism since he does not fear his assignment, despite the present political issues in Kashmir.
Rishi and Roja travel together to Kashmir and undergo their romantic honeymoon which is displayed through the beauty of nature and the love they have for each other. When Rishi is kidnapped by the terrorists, whom are depicted as Islamic, the narrative shifts into contradicting traditional ideals of the nation between the hero and heroine. Roja demonstrates religious and family orientated values, while Rishi portrays the principles of the state since he is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the nation. Roja can be seen as a representation of the state since her absence led Rishi to search for her, which set up his fate of being kidnapped because she directly disagrees with the state’s political logic and is willing to put the state in danger by the release of the ultimate terrorist Wasim Khan. Overall Roja believes the state’s main concern is security to all Indian individuals, which is contradictory towards Rishi’s view. This different understanding of the state creates a division between genders.
While Rishi was held captive by the terrorists, there were two instances where Rishi’s national identity was symbolically depicted. The first scene was when the terrorists held up a recording device and told him to say something to the Indian army to assure he was still alive. Rishi commented “Hail India” and was punished with physical aggression from the terrorists. He continued to proclaim “hail India”, despite the unbroken painful abuse. Another significant scene which truly demonstrated nation pride was when the terrorists set fire to an Indian flag after they found out their negotiation of prisoner exchange backfired. Rishi converts his pain into nationalism by symbolically sacrificing himself for the nation since he forced himself onto the fire with his body, allowing himself to catch on fire. This scene clearly showed the differences between Islamic principles against India nationality.
In the end Rishi stands between freedom and the leading terrorist Liaquat. Rishi begs for his life and questions Liaquat’s motives of killing through emotional recall of the recent death of Liquat’s brother. He brings in political, patriotic, and emotional knowledge which convinces Liaquat to draw his gun and step aside, allowing Rishi’s liberation and his reuniting with Rosa. This scene is extremely important because it shapes a new idea of the middle class by redefining what it means to be secular. Traditionally India was seen as a secular state and the Islamic forces were depicted as non-secular. Humanism becomes the root idea of nationalism, allowing integration into India, meaning the norm is shifted to the idea that everyone becomes humanistic enough to embrace and allow other religions in the nation.
Many of the songs embraced the love between Rishi and Rosa, which were sung in the beautiful nature. A lot of the songs were extremely explicit, which was something semi new for us to view. There was one specific song that sticks out to me the most because it directly represents what happens during a wedding night. The rocking of the bed seemed to be explicit for Hindi film because usually the idea of sex is discreet. The songs promoted realistic true Indian values.
I thought Rosa was a wonderful film, despite its narrow minded view. It was narrowed minded because it promoted a one sided story and the Palestinian’s were viewed more negatively. I liked the film because it produced a wonderful love story through a political issue that was very easy to detect and understand. I think the ending is the most significant scene throughout the entire film because it truly embraces the new idea of Humanism.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

Uday Reddy
HIND 2441
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge Review
Literally meaning “The Brave Heart Will Take the Bride”, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, directed by Aditya Chopra, is a love story that defines Indian Cinema. Raj Malhotra (Shah Rukh Khan), is a goofy but charismatic playboy brought up in London, the son of a very successful business man. He meets Simran Singh (Kajol) while she is traveling in Europe as a bachelorette present. Her father has arraigned a marriage in India (she also lives in London), and she is to marry the son of one of his friends. Simran immediately rejects the playfully immature Raj. After returning from the trip, Simran’s father finds out about her relationship with Raj and promptly ships her off to India so she cannot fraternize with Raj. This demonstrates one important theme in Indian cinema, Indian Nationalism. Raj is an “NRI” (Non-resident Indian), and because so he must be treated as a threat.
Raj, realizing that he has fallen for Simran, secretly follows them to Punjab to try to win over Simran’s father. He manages to befriend Simran’s groom-to-be, and starts to integrate himself with Singh family. Slowly but surely, Simran’s father becomes more and more friendly towards Raj. Raj even tentatively agrees to marry the sister, Preeti. Predictably, Simran’s father finds out about the two by finding a picture of them together realizing who Raj really is. He promptly disowned by the family and he and his father solemnly go to the train station. Throughout all of this, Raj keeps his faith that Simran and her father will come to their senses. Unfortunately for Raj, Kuljeet (Simran’s fiancé), also has come to his senses and he and his posy fight Raj at the train station. Raj, being Shah Rukj Khan, beats them all singlehandedly. Seeing this, Simran’s father realizes that Raj loves Simran the most because he is willing and able to fight for her love. He comes to his senses and Simran sprints to her lover as the train pulls away from the station.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is one of the most popular Indian films of all time, for great reason. Its comedic light and playful plot and unforgettable songs make Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge easy to fall in love with, but its core lessons are what make it a classically great film. The film demonstrates the idea of Indian nationalism constantly, from the traditional manner in which Simran was brought up and is treated, by how her father demands that she gets married to a Punjabi in India, and in the way that her father fantasizes about returning to India. It can also be seen through the untraditional and almost dangerous manner in which Raj lives, dangerous to the idea of a traditional Indian man. The film also highlights Raj’s foreign status by how he integrates English with Hindi, through his western clothes and style, and his loose but goofy nature.
The theme of gender is also shown in the film. One of the most notable ways is how the “Indian” men in the film treat women. The women are often silenced and disregarded especially during times of anger and controversy. Simran is also forced into marrying Kuljeet without any other options, and especially forbidden from even seeing the untraditional Raj. Raj, on the other hand, always regards Simran as an equal. The movie also criticizes Indian tradition by showing the viewers that true love transcends borders and sometimes tradition is not always right or just. Raj, though an NRI, is decidedly “Hindustani”. Despite Simran begging him to elope and save her, Raj refuses knowing that it is un-Hindu to break up a marriage in this manner.
The songs in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge also perpetuate the Hindustani theme of the movie. They help to further intertwine Simran and Raj’s emotions for each other by intimately but still conservatively developing their relationship. One song shows them fantasizing about each other, and hoping that they will run into each other, showing their feelings for each other. The songs help the viewer visualize the relationship between Raj and Simran, and the stipulations that come with it. The songs also demonstrate Indian Diaspora by using traditional Indian garments as well as traditional Bollywood music. In my opinion, the song and dance numbers in this film excellently tie the viewer in with the story, and further the plot in a meaningful and visual way. Moreover, the fantastic plot and conflicts in the film demonstrates why it is regarded so highly as an Indian film, because it leaves the viewer with a sense national pride while still leaving them with valuable lessons about Indian culture and practice.