Never in my wildest imagination did I think (let me assume none of us did) Batman, Mary Poppins, Harry Potter , Mr. Bean and DDLJ's Raj and Simran would share common ground. But soon enough they'll be immortalised in bronze at Leicester Square in London. That's right! To mark 30 years of Dil Wale Dulhania Le Jayengey (1995) as it remains India's longest running film –a desi coronation of sorts!
Disclaimer: For those of you here for another writer ranting about the nostalgia of the romance between Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, please skip. It is about crash-landing in the most Western film shrine of all.
We know the rite of passage, the Yash Raj film loved by the South Asian diaspora worldwide, is both symbolic and frankly overdue. We’ve dissected it for two decades now.
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So, what’s different? If Mary Poppins is a symbol of quaint British experience, DDLJ is British-Asian, making perfect sense to be cast in bronze on British soil. Part of the “Scenes in the Square” film trail, Raj and Simran at Leicester is set to be located outside the Odeon Theatre on the eastern terrace and is a savvy recognition of Hindi cinema’s global impact and of course King Khan’s charisma!
The film speaks to the NRI experience as Raj Malhotra is a London-based Punjabi boy, Simran’s family is nestled in Southall and their love story begins on a train from King's Cross station.
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Aditya Chopra’s directorial debut film often dubbed the Romeo and Juliet of Bollywood cinema, DDLJ , perfectly captures the tug-of-war faced by many from second generation South Asian families in the UK resonating with many.
By encompassing the hyphenated identity, the film although ‘a made in India’ has become a touchstone across generations in UK. In that right, DDLJ is not only Indian but equally British Asian making the commemoration of an Indian film represented in the trail for the first time on October 20th!