Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

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!

This was the top Bollywood film of the 90s and after seeing it I really can't think of one that was better. There are some that are just as good but I can't recall seeing one that's better. The story's pretty routine: boy meets girl in Europe, they fall in love, girl is engaged to some other idiot, and the rest writes itself... Sound familiar? Well it wasn't back in '95 (or even if it was it wasn't done as well) and Aditya Chopra's treatment of the story was a big reason for it's success. In every other movie the couple first wants to kill each other before falling in love. But in this movie it's slightly different and more plausible. Shahrukh doesn't want to kill Kahol - I mean Kajol - and she doesn't really hate him either, she just (like the rest of us) is annoyed by the guy. Their situations aren't that far-fetched and their Europe storyline is played out quite realistically (of course the piano scene is an exception). This was the beginning of the "Shahrukh plays Shahrukh era" and, for what it's worth, he hasn't made a better movie or given a better performance since. Sure there are places where he overacts but there are just as many places where he's able to hit all his cues. His comic timing was never better and there was still some sincerity in his eyes, a reminder of the fact that he was still an actor, which has since been replaced by the cockiness of a megastar. This is the movie that shot him to superstardom and put him alongside Aamir and Salman. Kajol is just as good (if not better), and I think after their next movie they'll win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The supporting cast is fine although no one really stands out. There are many moments in the film, most notably in the script, where you might feel a sense of deja vu. But keep in mind that this was the original, it's everything else that's a rehash. Bollywood headed straight for the sewer after this movie with almost all films, many of them starring Shahrukh, copying the same formula. Even at its 3 hour length the movie never drags till after the two-hour mark. I also want to comment on the film's Art Direction because it warrants a mention. Whether it's in Europe, England, or India, the movie has a very natural look to it. Unlike today's big films like Dil To Pagal Hai, or K3G, this movie looks good without trying to look good and I think that's a quality that's been lost on today's films. Too much attention is spent on the look at the expense of the story (if there is one!). The soundtrack of course is a classic, truly one of the all-time bests, with almost every song being a hit. The film won an unprecedented number of awards while breaking many records. There was a feeling that Aditya would follow in his father Yash's footsteps but regrettably the pressure got to him. He followed this up with the dreadful Mohabbatein which was slammed by audiences and critics alike. But so what. His first film was good, and with the current state of Bollywood movies - Devdas anyone? - you really can't get better than this.

I usually go for Bollywood films for the music-dance numbers. While this flick has a few good ones, I was mostly pleased with the plot. I liked the second half the best. I was very disappointed to learn from IMDb that this is the second of only two films done by Pooja Rupanel. She brought a lot of life and spark to a minor role - the female lead's younger sister. She should have done more films. Like any really good comedy, the story had its serious aspects - just enough to make the plot interesting. The stand=by Bollywood love triangle plot can be used as many times as one wishes as long as one has good actors, terrific musical numbers, and a few novel plot twists.

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.