On 25th anniversary of Bollywood film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Manish Malhotra recalls costume designing for SRK, Kajol

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As the iconic film ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,’ is all set to clock in 25 years on Oct. 20, 2020, fashion designer Manish Malhotra opened up about his vision with the film that made costume design an integral part of every film’s creative roadmap.

Speaking about the inspiration behind the iconic looks that his costumes created for the film, Manish said the script of the film played an integral role in its costume designing.

“Adi was very clear that he wanted Kajol to be very real but yet there is a clever quotient to her and that synergy I think came across very, very strongly in DDLJ’s costumes where they were relatable but yet there was something new and special about them,” he said.

“I think that’s what stayed on with the characters in Indian cinema. It was real but yet had a certain dreamy, certain aspirational and certain style element about them and that worked,” Malhotra added.

Moving on from the costumes to the iconic characters of Raj and Simran portrayed by Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, Manish said the characters were beautifully written.

“They were very young, they were very fresh, they were very new for the fact that he wanted Kajol to wear glasses, he wanted her going on Euro rail, how a conservative father allows her to do that, for Shah Rukh – actually traveling back to India to get the girl, so there were so many high moments in the film, moments that youth connected with,” the 53-year-old fashion designer said.

“I think Aditya has great understanding of the medium of filmmaking as well as what the audience wants and it was extremely fun working on this film. Pam aunty also would be discussing clothes with us, Yashji would be so excited about the clothes and there would be so much food after every discussion,” he added.

Written and directed by debutant Aditya Chopra, DDLJ shattered all box office records and is one of the biggest all-time blockbusters in the history of Hindi cinema.

It also went on to become the longest-running Hindi film of all time. It is also the winner of a record-breaking (at the time) 10 Filmfare Awards.