Chopra, Anupama

London. 2002. British Film Institute. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Wrappers. 0851709575. 96 pages. paperback. . keywords: Film. FROM THE PUBLISHER - Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (‘The Brave-hearted Will Take the Bride'), universally known as DDLJ, opened to huge popular acclaim in India in 1995. Audiences flocked back to see it again and again. Directed by first-time film-maker Aditya Chopra, it has since become the longest running film in the history of Indian cinema - and changed the face of Bollywood. DDLJ was the first contemporary Hindi film to focus on Indian residents abroad (specifically, in this case, London). It's a heady cocktail of European locations, flashy cars, gorgeous mansions - a feast for a newly liberalised nation - and the hearty, rustic traditions of Punjab . DDLJ has spawned numerous imitations and epitomises popular Indian cinema today. But, as Anupama Chopra points out, it's a paradoxical film which affirms old-fashioned values of pre-marital chastity and family authority, affirming the idea that Westernization need not affect an essential Indian identity. DDLJ is a far cry from the work of an older generation of film-makers who spoke often against the oppressions of tradition, and sometime proposed radical solutions. Whereas the lovers of a bygone generation might attempt to flee from their interfering families, DDLJ's lovers want and must have the approval of their elders. Having conducted in-depth interviews with the film-makers, Chopra gives the definitive account of a Bollywood phenomenon. inventory #34796 ISBN: 0851709575.