How ‘DDLJ’ Did Its Women Dirty
Thirty years later, the Bollywood classic still sparkles — but its cracks are now impossible to ignore.
As soon as you hear the words Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ), you think of fields of yellow mustard flowers, Shah Rukh Khan’s leather jacket, Kajol’s Swiss cow bell, and a never-ending Karwa Chauth sequence. The film, which came out on October 20, 1995 — exactly 30 years ago to this day — broke multiple records. It became the longest continuously screened film in theaters. It made its studio, Yash Raj Films, wildly rich. It influenced everything from fashion to European holidays, and made Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol veritable stars.
But, when all the nostalgic haze subsides a bit, and you look at the film anew, its legacy starts to crack, just a bit. On closer inspection, the iconic film opens with a man’s desires, ends with a man’s desires, and, most incriminating of all, fails to flesh out its female characters. If you happen to watch the film on Prime Video, trivia will flash before your eyes that you can’t unsee: Honey Irani co-wrote the script but was never given due credit. So for your umpteenth DDLJ rewatch, lean in a little bit closer, and you might get just as miffed as I did.