Remaking "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge"? You will have to adapt it to current times and thought processes, so no, the magic cannot be recreated, says 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 said 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 played 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 would have to make it like 'DDLJ', but it will never be 'DDLJ'. It will have to be different. And once you change people, the atmosphere, you will have to adapt the story to the current times, society and thought processes.”
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"And that changes the entire language of the film. So you will 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 NRI young adults, and has legions of fans still.
The 51-year-old actor credited Aditya Chopra, who made his directorial debut with the film that moves from snow-capped Switzerland to the mustard fields of Punjab, for crafting a story that still resonates.
"I think the conviction of the person who makes the film has a lot to do with what the film lands up looking at as... It's been made with conviction and passion and those two things, I think, always translate on camera beautifully.”
"DDLJ", which unfolds in a joint family in a Punjab village, also featured an excellent ensemble cast in late legend Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, Himani Shivpuri, Satish Shah, Parmeet Sethi, Mandira Bedi and Karan Johar.
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