I blame Shahrukh Khan.

 Love is a phenomenon that has been highly misunderstood by many, including myself. Different other phenomena are sometimes confused with love. However, the point of my blog is not discussing love, it is a complaint to Mr. Shahrukh Khan for messing up our minds about the ideas of 'falling in love.'

Let's begin from the beginning. I am a 90's child and my mind still battles the idea of meeting my Mr. Perfect in a strange land away from home. Yes, I am talking about Dil Waley Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Mr. Perfect is none other than Raj Malhotra. I know I am no Simran, my father won't allow me to travel to Switzerland with my friends to 'live my life before getting married, and I won't be meeting a moral casanova on my trip with whom I will fall in love. I am sure nobody is going to say 'palat' while I would be getting on the train. Let's be realistic, that train was not wheelchair accessible and it would take a lot of physical effort for me to get on the train. On a side note, despite standing there and waiting for me to turn around, Raj better helps me get on the train, that'd be more romantic.

Let's talk about Raj, who can not fall in love with that beautiful yet kind of weirdo personality? I mean, he was kind of irritating Simran on the train, right? Apart from all those minor character flaws, I am still head over heels in love with Raj. Knowing Raj from my teenage has made my standards very high. He is not just good-looking, he is loyal and fights the bad guys. Moreover, he respects Simran's parents and bonds with her family. He can play piano, sings phenomenally, fasts for Simran, expresses his feelings so profoundly, and never shies away from being sensitive. Where can I find such a guy?

The songs are the essence of this movie and perhaps a part of my personality. The first song of the movie still uplifts me to find true love. Not the ordinary love, the intense love of Raj, who traveled all the way to India just to tell Simran that he loves her and she shouldn't marry someone else.

Coming to this amazing song and the legendary neck kisses of Shahrukh Khan. This song still makes me blush and I feel butterflies in my stomach. How beautiful do they look together? 

How can we miss out on the mandolin? The distinctive tune that Raj plays for Simran. It still swoons me. As I write this, I can still that hear that tune playing in my mind. It is such a beautiful and melodious tune. Somehow, the mandolin is one of the distinct identities of this movie. Raj was traveling around Europe with his bag, supposedly the bike, and mandolin. The way he swings the mandolin and sets it on the shoulder is still adored by many, including myself. It is such an amazing thing that small details can have such a deep imprint on the viewer's mind.

The climax of this movie has a separate fan base. I will stop here to mention my great admiration for Amrish Puri. We all loved to hate him and in the last bit of the movie, he wins our hearts. 'Ja Simran Ja Jee le Apni Zindagi', this particular dialogue is much deeper than its literal interpretation. I can go on about it but, there couldn't be a better ending than this for the beautiful love story of Raj and Simran.

My grievance is that I love Raj and I can't forget his charming smile. Whenever my mood is off, I can watch this movie and stay happy for a few days; it's an unexplainable impact of this movie on my mind. It's my all-time favorite movie and no other movie can ever match up to its level of awesomeness. Last year, this spectacular movie completed 25 years and I'm so thankful that it was made. 

I blame Shahrukh Khan for introducing me to Raj in such a fascinating manner that somehow, despite knowing the impossibility of finding him, I am still finding my Raj. I know I'm not alone. Some of you can definitely understand what I am talking about, don't you? 

I blame you, Shahrukh Khan, I seriously blame you.

P.S I love Raj but my definition of love has evolved immensely. It's not the same as it was in the teens. However, Raj still remains my first love.