Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jaayenge.....Why do I love thee?

 Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge, an epic romance, or rather one of the longest running romantic musicals. Every girl dreams to be Simran, to find her Raj, and believe it or not but to run in the “sarson ke khet”. But is that all DDLJ is…

Mere khwabon mein jo aaye, aake mujhe chedd jaaye, usse kaho kabhi saamne to aaye….

I saw DDLJ the first time when I was in school, sometime in the 6^th or the 7^th std. It was love at first sight. I barely understood what those people were doing. But I fell in love with Raj, his smile, his eyes, with the way he always had open arms for Simran to run into. How he was always funny and laughing. How he always found a way around every problem. I didn’t know what love was. But I danced to all the songs, sang them and hoped to have a person like him to run to. My mother would cry at the ending, or when Simran’s mother gave simran a long monologue about her sacrifices. I would just laugh at her.

I started growing up, and my love for DDLJ only grew stronger. In my teenage years, It was ofcourse all about the love story. The wind blowing, the music playing, the woman running into the man’s arms, the fun in sneaking around on the terrace. The rush of the first kiss, ofcourse on the cheek *blush blush*. Holding hands, lying in each other’s arms, the songs, the rain, phew! I can go on and on… DDLJ was romance personified. It was mills and boon and harlequin on video. It was everything a girl would want…in terms of romance or from a guy. That is what I wanted…I like everyone was looking for Raj, my Mr. perfect.

Na jaane mere dil ko kya ho gaya, abhi to yahin tha abhi, kho gaya…..

The growing up continues, heartbreaks happened, reality hit me, practicality, rationality, everything negative was thrown in my face. But one thing was there all along….I still loved DDLJ. This time someone asked me, why do you love DDLJ? You’re all grown up now. You cant possibly believe in this S***. All this is not real…and all that. And that got me thinking. Why do I still love this movie..besides the fact that I love Shahrukh Khan to the limit.

Aye waqt ruk ja, tham ja theher ja, vapas zara daud peeche, main chodd aayi khud ko jahan pe, wo reh gaya mod peeche….

This is why I love DDLJ….

Yes I am a big sucker for love stories and especially the ones that work out, but this film is much more than a love story. It is about having a good heart, having respect and also the old saying, love sees no fault.

Raj was a useless college failure, actually the ONLY guy who failed in his class. He smoked, drank and even partied. Also he was a womanizer. But despite all of this and because of a cool father, he shared an amazing relationship with his father. His father didn’t give him a hard time for being a failure. Didn’t give him a hard time for anything. Supported him with everything but laid out a few rules about Raj joining his business, which Raj lived with.

Simran was a do-gooder. Thanks to simran’s father she was as indian as anybody could be. But she was a creative person. In solitude, she found poetry. She dreamed of a prince, a prince charming, but told no one but her mother about it. Thanks to her father she lived in a dictatorship. “Modern thoughts” didn’t even touch them thought her father, but it was just hidden from him. He didn’t believe in giving people their space, he believed in things going according to the way he wanted them. Simran inspite of ALL of this suffocation didn’t do anything to step out of line.

Raj and Simran met. Obviously they didn’t like each other at first sight. They got lost. There was a night where Simran was drunk beyond her wits. She would have done anything Raj wanted her to do. And though the song is very melodious and fun, it is a drunk girl doing stupid things. Raj could’ve used that to his advantage. He could’ve done whatever he wanted to with her and there was no way she would’ve found out or done anything. But he didn’t. This is when Raj, the failure becomes a gallant hero. He didn’t behave like a douchebag, instead he decided to respect her honour. Respect her altogether. He shows me that it is just a matter of choice, and even a jerk who makes the right choice can become a hero.

They fell in love, or rather knew they felt something for each other. Simran who suffered a suffocated childhood could’ve easily stepped out of line even if it was out of the frustration of having a boxed up life. But instead she decided to come clean about the fact that she was promised to someone in marriage. Even if it was just to remind herself what this trip was all about. Raj fell in love too. He knew it. He could’ve proposed to her and made sure she complied to what he said, because he did feel the same way about him. But he again decided to respect her commitments. Also he didn’t make a move until he was sure about how he felt.

Raj came all the way to India not to run away with Simran, which he could’ve because his father was in on it, he could’ve just eloped with her and gone back to his father. And everything would’ve been fine. But he decided against it. He decided that his love was so pure for Simran that he didn’t want it to feel wrong by eloping. He wanted everyone to bless their union because it was right. They weren’t doing anything wrong.

Simran a brilliant, well mannered girl fell in love with a failure, womanizer, a free wheeling guy. Raj a very fun, good looking guy fell in love with a boring, quiet, not so conventionally good looking girl. Here is where it all sums up. Love means respect. Love means trust. Love means never finding faults in the other person. Love means loving everything about a person, and Love is the one true emotion that can melt anyone..and it can happen in the blink of an eye..

Tujhe dekha to ye jaana sanam, pyaar hota hai deewana sanam, ab yahan se kahan jaaye hum, teri baahon mein mar jaaye hum…

The music, the romance, the emotions, the setting and a lot of other things make this film my most favourite romantic saga of all time…I am sure when I watch this movie 10 years down the line, I will fall in love with something new about DDLJ, All over again………

Lastly,

Mohabbat ka naam tab bhi Mohabbat tha, ab bhi Mohabbat hai, wo na kabhi badly hai aur na hi kabhi badlegi…..