Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol starrer ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, directed by Aditya Chopra, completed 25 years on Tuesday and the film’s leading lady opened up about why the film is hailed as the most loved romantic film in the history of Indian cinema.
‘DDLJ’ shattered all box office records and is one of the biggest all-time blockbusters in the history of Hindi cinema. It also went on to become the longest-running Hindi film of all time as it has played in theatres for 25 long years!
SRK and Kajol have also changed their Twitter handle username as Raj Malhotra and Simran. Kajol says, “I think ‘DDLJ’ is timeless because everybody identifies somewhere down the line with Simran and Raj. I think they just like these characters a lot! They have liked them for years and years now and it’s one of those things that you always like and probably will always like.”
Kajol says, “I thought Simran was a little boring, to be honest, but I recognised her. I realised there is a lot of Simran in almost everybody we know in a way that they want to do the right thing. A lot of people don’t do the right thing but we always want to do that. You want to get that approval, you want to get that feeling that you are approved of and that you are doing something right in the world. So, yes Simran was like that. I thought she was just cool, a little old-fashioned but cool.”
‘DDLJ’ is also the winner of a record-breaking (at the time) 10 Filmfare Awards and the film changed the face of Bollywood globally. It was made at a budget of Rs 4 crore and the blockbuster, in 1995, collected Rs 89 crore in India, Rs 13.50 crore in overseas markets. Thus, total collections stood at Rs 102.50 crore worldwide in 1995! In today’s inflation-adjusted value, its collection stands at a staggering Rs 455 crore in India and Rs 69 crore in overseas territories, taking the total worldwide collections to a phenomenal Rs 524 crore!