Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, remains one of India’s most beloved romantic films of all time. The timeless blockbuster has become a cultural landmark, symbolizing love for generations of Indians and South Asians around the world.
As the film marks its 30th anniversary, Shah Rukh and Kajol fondly recalled how audiences fell in love with Raj and Simran — characters that have become eternal icons of romance.
Shah Rukh Khan said, “It doesn’t feel like it’s been 30 years since Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge released. It feels like it happened yesterday because ‘bade bade deshon mein aisi choti choti baatein hoti rehti hain….’ but it still feels unbelievable. I’m truly grateful for all the love that I have received from people from across the world for playing Raj - nobody could have foreseen the kind of place the film made in the hearts of people around the world and I will never forget the moment when everyone started to come…see the film and fall in love.”
He added, “The impact this film has had on the hearts of people worldwide is unprecedented and so many couples meet me and say we got married or fell in love…after watching this film. I also feel that it has had such a happy effect on the pop culture of India and South Asians.”
SRK further stated, “I think all the success is to be credited to the pure heart with which the film was made by us all, the clarity that Adi had about DDLJ and especially because of the blessings of Yash ji! Here’s to the many years of falling in love…..”
Kajol aka Simran said, “Thirty years of DDLJ sounds surreal! The film has aged into a legacy and a nostalgic experience for a generation. That classic was made with the recklessness of youth and the honesty of first love, never imagining that Raj and Simran would make the entire nation hold its breath at a train station. The songs, the dialogues, the mustard fields - everything from that world seeped into pop culture and stayed there.”
She added, “There’s a piece of DDLJ in almost every romantic film that came after it, because somewhere, history was made and it never quite left us. For me, Simran is a chapter that refuses to end. She represents millions of girls across this country - girls who want to do what their parents say, who carry tradition in one hand but still reach out for freedom with the other. That’s why she still resonates. Every time someone says, ‘Ja Simran, ja', it signifies the belief that courage and love can coexist.”
DDLJ also reflected SRK and Kajol’s effortless chemistry that moved people on an emotional level like never before. Kajol reveals, “I’ve never been one to tiptoe around the truth and Shah Rukh is no different. With him, it was effortless from the first take. There’s a kind of understanding, a rhythm, and a trust that just clicks. You know exactly how the other person thinks, how they’ll react, how a look, a pause, or even silence will land. That’s why the magic feels so natural on screen; it’s not acting in the traditional sense, it’s responding, playing, and bouncing off each other in a way that feels real.”
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