Remaking ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’? You will have to adapt to current times and thought processes. So no, the magic cannot be recreated,” said Kajol, 30 years after the release of the film that introduced her to moviegoers as Simran, the Londoner who loves but needs parental approval before her ‘happily ever after’.
“Create your own magic,” Kajol told PTI ahead of the 30th anniversary of the film that released on October 20, 1995 and went on to become one of India’s biggest hits ever. It can still be seen on the big screen in Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir.
She was then just 21, her role as Simran, the rebellious yet traditional NRI who falls in love with the charming Raj, played by Shah Rukh Khan, but reconciles herself to get married to a man chosen by her parents and one she has never met.
“I don’t think magic can be recreated. I think that if today you had to make a film, you’d have to make it like ‘DDLJ’, but it will never be ‘DDLJ’. It will have to be different. And once you change people and the atmosphere, you will have to adapt the story to the current times, society and thought processes. And that changes the entire language of the film. So, you’ll have to create your own magic,” she said.
How well the film will sit with today’s young is a matter of debate. At the time, it redefined Bollywood romance with its story of two young NRI adults and has legions of fans still.
Its songs ‘Tujhe dekha to ye jaana sanam’, ‘Mehndi laga ke rakhna’, ‘Ruk jaa...’, ‘Mere khwabo mein...’, ‘Ho gaya hai tujhko to pyaar sajna’ and dialogues like ‘Bade bade deshon mein...’, ‘Palat’ and ‘Jaa Simran ja’ are now part of public consciousness and everyday conversations.
Does she believe ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ to be a perfect film, given its longevity and the cultural capital it has earned over the years? “I don’t think there is anything called a perfect film and I don’t think we knew what makes for a perfect film. But yes, this is one film that is still doing well. And you know, we’re going on 30 years now for DDLJ. It’s wonderful. It’s something that I think people have adapted and made their own,” she said.