DDLJ at 20: The stars look back

How many actors in this world can claim in over 100 years of Indian cinema, one fifth belongs to them and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ)? Shah Rukh Khan can. The Bollywood star asked that question at an event at Mumbai’s Yash Raj Studios celebrating DDLJ’s 1,000th week of screenings. The iconic romance, directed by Aditya Chopra, which celebrates its 20th anniversary on October 20, has placed its actors on a revered pedestal.

“The film says it is cool to be Raj and Simran while maintaining our Indianness and culture,” added Khan, during a conversation with Kajol at the event.

Think about it: Through their roles in DDLJ, Khan’s arms-wide-open stance was legitimised as the quintessential Bollywood lover pose; shy Simran, played by Kajol, became every Indian man’s ideal bride; and actor Anupam Kher became the model father who’s both affectionate and progressive.

“DDLJ is a lot like Sholay or like The Godfather. These iconic films have a timeless quality to them,” said Kher in an interview with tabloid! last week.

“Any film which you can see anywhere, anytime is a relevant film. And remember DDLJ is part of all those who are in their mid- or late thirties now. It’s a part of their sensibilities and since this generation is more youth-oriented, DDLJ will always matter,” said Kher.

He played Khan’s rich, boisterous father who encourages his son to pursue the love of his life.

“DDLJ was never cliché-ridden. At that time, it was a fresh approach towards love, relationships and goodness of heart. Even the father-son relationship was a major change from the regular ones shown in films. My character was so supportive of his son being a lover and I wasn’t some crotchety old man who sermonised about love,” said Kher. The film also saw a series of firsts in Hindi cinema.

“The major point of the film was that for the first time in Hindi cinema, the boy says ‘I will take the girl only if her father says yes’. Socially, it was a big thing to have happened,” said Kher. Until DDLJ, romances such as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak starring Aamir Khan and Maine Pyaar Kiya starring Salman Khan celebrated lovers resorting to violent rebellion against rigid parents resisting their union. Suicide was always an option.

“I still remember that there was a pin-drop silence after the premiere screening of DDLJ in Mumbai. I was standing next to the exit door with Yash Chopra [the late director, and father of DDLJ director Aditya Chopra] in the cinema hall and after the screening there was just silence. Yashji held my hand because he thought that people did not like it or were upset. But it took 30 seconds for people to react to what they had just seen. Then, there was a standing ovation and it was phenomenal,” said Kher. Surprisingly, all the actors from DDLJ enjoyed its glorious success one way or the other.

Farida Jalal, who played Kajol’s Punjabi mother, describes her role as a “milestone in her prolific career”.

“People don’t make these films anymore … about family values. The scene in which I tell my daughter that gender equality is an impossible dream for women and that she should elope with that boy Raj from London is one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever been in,” said Jalal, who still wonders how a young director like Aditya Chopra had even conceived such a gritty scene. Aditya Chopra was 23 at the time of filming DDLJ.

“I salute him. He was so young, yet he knew how a mother feels. I am so proud of him and how he has taken the Yash Raj brand and lineage forward,” said Jalal.

After this film, directors had her on speed-dial to play virtuous, strong-yet-stern mother roles.

“It’s been 20 years and I have done 200 odd films before DDLJ. But people still hold my hand today and talk about my role in DDLJ and Aaradhana [starring Rajesh Khanna]. They connect with me instantly,” said Jalal.

Actor Parmeet Sethi, who made his debut in DDLJ as Simran’s chauvinistic fiance Kuljeet, had to deal with a different kind of adulation.

“In real life, I have been mistaken as that arrogant alpha male many times. It was upsetting and hilarious. People have come up to me and said: “I thought you are going to be an [expletive], but you are not like that in real life … I have begun taking it as a compliment,” said Sethi, who went on to direct Badmaash Company with Yash Raj Films, co-owned by DDLJ director Aditya Chopra.

“DDLJ is one of the best examples of a subplot in films. Every actor in the film gets their moment in the sun because their roles were so well-defined. It’s one of the few films in which supporting actors are not forgettable or cardboard cut-outs ... And as long as films such as Jab Tak Hain Jaan does well, DDLJ will remain relevant,” said Sethi, alluding to late director Yash Chopra’s recent pristine romance JTHJ.