Directed by Aditya Chopra. Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.
Much like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which I reviewed recently, DDLJ is an example of a non-Hollywood popular-cinema movie. Bollywood, aka Hindi-language cinema, is a huge and beloved industry (its audience is estimated to be 3 billion people globally -- almost half the world's population). Its films are boisterous, musical, colorful, predictable, and extremely fun to watch. DDLJ is one of the longest running Bollywood films -- though it was made in the 90s, it can still be found on some screens in India today. Though it clocks in at over 3 hours, it's a wild ride that's totally gorgeous (particularly on Blu-Ray), filled with catchy ear-worm songs, and starring one of the world's biggest movie stars (Shah Rukh Khan). In other words, it's well worth seeing.
This film is, of course, a boy meets girl story... but it's also about cultures and generations clashing. The two main characters are second-generation immigrants living in London who meet when traveling across Europe -- the boy, after college; the girl, before an arranged marriage is to take place. In a wonderful Pride and Prejudice -esque plot, hate becomes love, though the two are separated by the end of the trip and the girl's impending marriage. The second half of the film (most Bollywood movies have intermissions) transfers to India, where wedding preparations become the backdrop for the boy's last ditch efforts to get the girl -- or "take the bride."
In a lot of ways, this is a film driven by music -- more so at times than images. As you'll know if you've ever seen ANY clip of ANY Bollywood movie, the songs are lipsynched. More specifically, the songs are performed by vocal artists (who are sometimes more famous than the movie stars). This playback singing is as important as the movie story. Often, songs are released before films, and it is even said that Bollywood films are the "picturization" of the music. Still, the visuals are playful spectacles. Some scenes seem more like music videos than anything else -- see the many locations and jumps in this clip, from about a third of the way into the film, in which the "good girl" character gets drunk and has a wild night. Perhaps what's most striking in these films is the color... just look at that poster, an actual scene in the film (also, this is another great clip).
As one of the biggest Bollywood hits of all time, this is a wonderful film if you want to expand your horizons and get a representative taste of another culture's filmmaking. It's fun -- you'll be dancing in your seat in no time -- as well as romantic, funny, and crowd-pleasing.
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