"Rajesh Khanna" she replied.
Rajesh Khanna! Really? I was disappointed our choices didn't match. The Khans were ruling the 90's cinema and she had picked an actor from a completely different era. I failed to understand why. He didn't even act in movies anymore. Wouldn't a Salman or a Shah Rukh be a rather appropriate choice? I wondered!
Years have passed by since then. My fondness for movies and Bollywood remains intact. Salman and SRK have still continued their reign over Indian cinema with a long list of blockbusters under their belt. But times have changed too. Its equally evident how the newbie actors have entered. So popular and are doing extremely well. These are the same kids who were in school when DDLJ or MPK released. But are now sharing the same frame and fame in bollywood.
For the love of Indian cinema, I do enjoy watching these new faces! Fresh out of the oven actors with enormous talent who have so much to prove and offer. Yet deep inside me those movies that I watched while growing up, those stars that I fell in love with in my teens...will always be the most special. Years down the line if I'm ever asked who my favorite actor is? I don't really know whom I'll pick, but I sure do know one thing: The generation from which he'll belong:))
And therefore Mom chose Mr. Rajesh Khanna, today I seem to know the reason why!
Last week DDLJ got recognition for completing 1000 weeks. I remember the effect it had on me when I first saw the movie in 1995. Every since, I've watched it umpteenth times. I'll watch it again in a heartbeat, feeling the same way I did for the first time. There can never be another movie like DDLJ, and there will always be only one Raj and Simran.
Below is the newly released trailer of the film on benchmarking 1000 weeks! I got goosebumps watching it. Let me know if you felt it too? What a movie, what an era, what romance! Agree?
