Exclusive: Anupam Kher says Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge wouldn’t work if released in 2025
Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher is gearing up for the release of ‘Metro …In Dino’, which stars Neena Gupta opposite the actor. Now, in an exclusive chat with India Today, the actor opened up about how love and its portrayal in films have evolved or perhaps, corrupted over time. He also opened up about how Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge wouldn’t work if released in 2025.
In a exclusive conversation, Kher said, “Whatever happens in the world around us reflects in our movies — whether it’s in the songs, the language, or the way we communicate love. Earlier, there was a certain kashish (appeal), a longing in romance.”
Recalling the old days of cinema, he added, “In those times, we never used to speak directly. Falling in love took time. Even going to bed with someone wasn’t immediate—first love, then marriage, then sex. Now it’s like, fall in love today, and have sex the next day. There’s nothing wrong with it, I’m not judging. But that’s how it’s shown now.”
Kher expressed his yearning for romantic films, “I’m longing to see a love story where there’s a certain amount of kashish. That’s why I felt Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was such a beautiful romantic film — Sanjay Leela Bhansali captured that essence so well. It had all of that..”
He continued with a rhetorical pause, asking, “But now, there’s a certain ghabrahat (restlessness). Where is the beauty of a romantic film anymore? Tell me — what was the last truly romantic film you saw? Exactly. None.
When asked why love stories were easier to tell in the past, he responded, “Samaaj badal gaya hai (society has changed). Films reflect society. If you make an old-school love story now, maybe only a few people will go watch it.”
When asked if ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ released for the first time in 2025, would it have worked Anupam said, ” No, I don’t think it would. Today, it works because of its nostalgic value. But if it were made for the first time now, it wouldn’t have had the same impact. Just like Gone with the Wind — if it were made today, it wouldn’t resonate the same way. Times have changed, life has changed. Back then, in the late ’90s and earlier, we had stories of couples eloping. But DDLJ was the first time when the hero said, ‘I will convince your father. Only then will we marry.’ That was new. The father tells his son, ‘You failed in London? Good. We’ve all failed in India too.’ These were fresh, grounded characters. Now, things are different.”
And yet, he believes love as an emotion has endured — it’s just the expressions that have shifted. “Love, at its core, may remain the same — but the way we express, portray, and understand it changes with every generation.”
