Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

Aditya Chopra's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is a superb example of the genius of Hindi commercial cinema. If you see it, you'll get that it's not very different as a love story. It is even ordinary. But it becomes special for many reasons. First and foremost, for its fresh, naive spirit. Secondly, the many paradoxes it contains: it is powerful yet subtle, larger-than-life yet simple, funny yet sad, magical yet realistic, and so on. Thirdly, it is one of the first films portraying Indians who live outside their country (in this case, London). It also shows the yearning of the first-generation NRIs who live far away from their homeland and for many reasons find it difficult to come back. Yet, the film remains mainly a poignant, melancholic romance.

Raj and Simran, the characters played by Shahrukh Khan and Kajol represent the last generation of youngsters who were innocent and naive. They were much more simple, respectful and full of life. Such people almost no longer exist nowadays. The film relates their love story in a rather mesmerising way. Every scene is important. There are many great moments in the film. Raj and Simran's entire acquaintance and interaction in the first half is charming. Their separation at the end of the first half, when both make each other understand of their true feelings without explicitly admitting it, is moving. The traditional wedding preparations in the second half are well-made; the values they show, Raj's attempts to conquer Simran's father, and the couple's deepening relationship are interesting. The only thing I regretted was the typical fight scene towards the end.

Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, who undoubtedly form a great film couple, are both excellent in their roles. They act from the heart, and ably bring their characters to life. Shahrukh Khan is incredible as Raj, a modern guy who understands the value of family and marriage, and yet he has the look of a careless fool who does not take anything seriously. Khan acts with great ease, wit and humour, and his inner fear of losing his beloved is always understood. Kajol as the dreamy and poetic yet intransigent and smart Simran is exceptional, and she looks very hot throughout. Amrish Puri and Farida Jalal as Simran's parents provide great support. Amrish Puri is particularly impressive as the strict but soft-hearted father, and Jalal is touching as the woman who has lived life according to terms and does not want the same to happen to her daughter. Anupam Kher is funny and entertaining as Raj's father.

The film's soundtrack is outstanding and is clearly one of the main reasons this film works so well and is unforgettable today. The music is very well identified with the film and its story. Just try to imagine you would be given to watch the movie with the songs edited out. You wouldn't want to, right? That's because every song is a gem and is as important as every other scene. Every song comes in the right place and is sung and pictured exceptionally well. The one closest to my heart is "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko", for its beautiful melody and very melancholic feel, which is aided by its blend of fantasy and reality on-screen. It is performed to perfection by Lata Mangeshkar and Udit Narayan. DDLJ is a film that should not be missed by anyone. It is one of the great gifts of Yash Chopra and his banner. It is a milestone of Indian cinema for its ability to inject fresh and magical energies into a banal love story, and for making it classically memorable.

Bollywood has changed a lot over the last two decades. Production values have increased dramatically and that cheesiness that was so typical of old Bollywood films has been toned down somewhat and replaced by a professionalism that is often on a par with Hollywood. So how does this 20 year old film stack-up?

In short, it is brilliant. Yes, it is has a certain kitschness. It has musical interludes that are so cheesy you almost want to laugh, and some of the acting is pretty questionable. But at the same time there's something sublime about the film. Somehow, the kitschness, the cheesiness and the low-budget production seems to have come together to create a work of art that will live on for decades to come.

Raj and Simran, the male and female leads, are endearing. The support cast are very good. The story line, whilst at times being predictable, also has some clever little twists and turns, and by the end of it you feel like you've watched a movie that will stay with you for many years to come, which I guess answers why Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge has such enduring popularity.

Is it perfect? Definitely not. Is it worth watching? If you enjoy a little light-hearted, Bollywood romantic-comedy then that would be a definite yes.

Probably one of the greatest love stories ever told. Director Aditya Chopra made his debut as a director with this film. Aditya is the son of legendary Director/Producer Yash Chopra who gave us films like Deewar, Darr, Waqt, Kabhie Kabhie, Dil To Pagal Hai and Veer-Zaara.

Aditya was one the first Directors of the New Generation of the Indian film Directors. With his first film he got rave reviews and was immediately classified as one of the best directors in Indian Cinema. With DDLJ, Aditya showed us what falling in love, respect, and family values are all about. This film also confirmed the Pair of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as one of the best in the Indian Cinema. It made Kajol and Shah Rukh superstars over night and two of the most sought after actors.

DDLJ also started the trend of love stories in Indian Cinema. Before DDLJ, most Indian films were action films. But DDLJ changed all that and the way of war was changed to a way of love. It's incredible how this film changed the Indian Cinema and the way of making films. DDLJ is a Forever Classic.

It recently set a new record for the longest running film when it crossed the 500th week mark (that means it's a 10 time golden jubilee), the previous record was 275 weeks and was held by SHOLAY (another forever classic). All I can say is you must watch this movie, because "After Raj met Simran, love wasn't the same...come fall in love all over again".

I recently took a class about India in college and towards the end of the semester, we watched a few clips from some Bollywood and Tamil movies. I was very moved and inspired by the clips alone! Then, I told my friend (who happens to be Indian) from my work study job that I like Bollywood. So she invited me to an "Indian Movie Night" at her dorm. We watched K3G and I was so touched by it! It was simply wonderful. Most of all, I became a SRK and Kajol fan. Their on-screen chemistry is remarkable! I can't explain it! Anyhoo, I asked my mom for some Bollywood movies for Christmas and one of the movies I got was DDLJ. And let me tell ya'll, it is now my favorite movie of all time. SRK and Kajol shine beyond reason in this flick. The script is excellent, everything is excellent especially the acting and memorable songs! The supporting cast (most notably Simran parents, sister and Raj's dad were figging awesome!) Mr. Amish (sic) Puri, who played Kajol's dad acts wonderfully with just his eyes! One of the funniest lines in the movie is when Raj's friend walks into Simran's dad store and says "Uncle, can I have some beer?!" Gosh, it's the way that cat said the line that made it so FUNNY! After watching it again yesterday, I realized that I love so many Hollywood movies (particularly classic ones) and yet I couldn't state my all time favorite one. But while watching the making of DDLJ (I own the special edition version with two DVD's inside), I became rather teary eyed. I mean, I'm getting teary eyed writing this review at this moment! This film touched not only my heart, but my soul as well. They are so many underlying messages in DDLJ that can strike a cord in a non-Indian's (like me, I'm Nigerian American) soul. In end, I hope people who read this will buy DDLJ, (Renting will be useless, because you'll want to watch it over and over again...) love this priceless gem of a movie, and this goes out to the girls, wanna "come...fall in love" with a cool, crazy, sexy guy like Raj!

PS- THIS IS THE GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!

I'm sooo in love with this movie. Its way better than Kuch Kuch Hota Hai or any other Hindi film or ANY film in general that I've ever seen! It's that good! I just want to recommend this to everyone ESPECIALLY if your a Shah Ruhk Khan/Kajol fan, they are awesome together. The whole supporting cast does a great job too- Put together with the beautiful direction of Aditya Chopra they turn a simple storyline of uncliched love into a heartfelt movie you can watch over and over again. Oh, and did I mention the songs rock too!