Aditya Chopra Tells You 10 Things All ‘DDLJ’ Fans Should Know

The film premiered on 20 October, 1995.

The iconic Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge turned 25 years old on 20 October. To celebrate the journey, production house Yash Raj Films took us down memory lane and shared 24 quotes from director Aditya Chopra about the film, its characters and cast. Take a look at the highlights:

On the Star Power of SRK

“One of the reasons why Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman became who they are is because they do not remind us of anyone we have seen before, just like Amitabh Bachchan did not remind us of anyone either. I think that’s what makes a superstar.”

Aditya Chopra, Director

The Inspiration Behind Raj’s Character

“For me, Raj Malhotra was like: “Oh my God, this is a true filmmaker.” His work is still so contemporary and speaks to me the most. No prize for guessing why DDLJ’s Raj Malhotra is called Raj.”

Aditya Chopra

How the Iconic ‘Palat’ Dialogue Was Born

“I copied the idea of ‘palat’ from a film that has nothing to do with Hindi cinema or love stories. It’s from a Clint Eastwood 11993 thriller called ‘In the Line of Fire’. There’s a moment where Eastwood sees his love interest walk away and says to himself “turn” or something to that effect. It got stuck in my head.”

Aditya Chopra

The Magic of Kajol

“Kajol was someone I fell in love with the instant I saw her in ‘Bekhudi’. I didn’t like the film but really liked Kajol; I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”

Aditya Chopra

The ‘DDLJ’ Legacy

“For years, DDLJ was probably the most successful Indian film abroad. That said, I wasn’t very pleased with the way it was distributed in the West, and that prompted me to start our own overseas distribution. The first film we distributed outside India was ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (1997), our next production. The profits of DDLJ also allowed us to buy land in Andheri West where the YRF Studio stands today.” 

Aditya Chopra

The Connection Between Yash Chopra and Chaudhary Baldev Singh

“I don’t think dad (Yash Chopra) gave me any specific advice as such before I started shooting DDLJ. He had such a strong presence. He was a father who truly loved his sons. My father wanted us brothers to live life the way we chose to live it. Chaudhary Baldev Singh’s line “Ja jee le apni zindagi” is very dad.”

Aditya Chopra

Why SRK Nearly Turned DDLJ Down

“It was not easy convincing Shah Rukh. When I narrated the story to him, he was surprised I was making a love story. He thought I’d make an action film as a first movie. At that point in time, he wanted to play macho action hero roles and did not want to work in what he called “pansy love stories”. And although he liked the script, he didn’t say yes.”

Aditya Chopra

On Getting the Lyrics for Each Song Just Right

“When the time came for us to work on the lyrics for ‘DDLJ’, I was very demanding. The first song Bakshi Saab (lyricist Anand Bakshi) started working on was a song to introduce the heroine Simran and speak of her innermost desires. We discussed the scene in great detail. Bakshi Saab went away and came back a few days later with five or six mukhdas. I didn’t like any and rejected them. This happened over 10 days. Every other day, he would return to see me with five more mukhdas and I’d say no. By the tenth day, I had rejected at least 50 mukhdas.”

Aditya Chopra

On Capturing SRK and Kajol On Screen

“The director of photography, Manmohan Singh, used to say Kajol’s face is just so photogenic that he could photograph her at any angle and she would look beautiful. I agreed with him. I also thought that Shah Rukh was very photogenic too. He’s not dashing in real life; you could just walk past him on the street without noticing him. But the camera loves him and on the screen, he’s so arresting.”

Aditya Chopra

Aditya’s Special Name for DDLJ

“When I speak of the film, I call it ‘Dilwale’ and not ‘DDLJ’. The title was long and so pretty soon ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ became ‘DDLJ’ to everyone. Not that I have an issue with the acronym, but for me it’s like a pet name that someone else has given your child.”

Aditya Chopra

(The article is from The Quint's archives and has been reposted to mark 25 years of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge)