Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

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.

Dilwale made me glad to be a Westerner, just so I could experience the sheer rush in the glorious way this film simply throws its Indian sensibility in your face. It is one of the most completely, openly joyful films I have ever seen. In many ways a totally Western film, it is yet completely un-Western, and absolutely invigorating.

I found the (rather oddly looped in places) mix of Hindi and English dialog to be a lot of fun to follow (as incomplete as the subtitles sometimes seemed). The Indian/Western pop structure of the songs was entertaining and infectious. The choreography is simply amazing, and some of the most sheerly athletic I've seen. The Indian roots of the dance routines were at first almost unnerving--at once familiar yet bizarre, almost surreal (to my Western eyes). It was sheer fun making the cultural adjustment.

The plot is predictable, almost pedestrian--certainly not what you'd call "never done before," and yet I found myself completely absorbed in the story, and rooting for the main characters. This is in large part due to Shahrukh Khan's and Kajol's performances as Raj and Simran. He is totally endearing, and she is totally hot!, and their on screen chemistry is as cute & perky and smoldering & steamy as Fred and Ginger at their peak. It was, simply put, fun to watch them having so much fun.

Director Aditya Chopra was, I understand, only 24 when he made Dilwale, and the film was so successful its Indian first run lasted a world-record 11 years (and may still be going on, as far as I know). A heckuva testimony to Bollywood indeed. This movie has instantly become one of my favorite musicals, and I look forward to finding more films from Chopra, Khan, and Kajol. What a treat!

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!

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!

Srk-Kajol have worked in a lot of blockbusters together(Baazigar, Karan Arjun, KKHH, K3G) but DDLJ will always be recognized as their best to date. Debutant director Aditya Chopra so perfectly brings these two together at the back-drop of a realistic family setting that its hard not to fall in love with them. Its chemistry at its finest. For Srk it was his first "Raj" character(play-girl type guy with the right values and morals) which he plays to perfection. For Kajol, DDLJ was a career making movie. As Simran she's beautiful, sweet, sensitive and a bit stuck-up too. Thank god Madhuri didn't have the dates to work in DDLJ cuz no actress suits Srk better then Kajol. There are countless heart-warming scenes between em' in DDLJ. Each one of them is uniquely different and just as much fun to watch. The entire setting of DDLJ is very simplistic, which brings out that special "oomph" in their romance. The songs are first-class. The strong supporting cast of Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, Anupam Kher and Satish Shah definitely helped the movie to become the classic as its now seen as.

Bottomline: DDLJ is 'romantic comedy' with Indian emotions at its peak. From the cast, chemistry, music, direction and the awesome pairing of Srk-Kajol....its perfect!