You don't buy a DVD to just watch a particular movie on saturday evening or when you have no other better things to do. If you are a person belonging to such category then you better prefer to watch a movie on cable(if you are able to find time from daily soaps and cricket matches).But here I am talking about us people who buy a particular movie when we visit a DVD Shop or parlour, check about the special features coming with it, see how many discs are coming with it (usually 1,2 or 3) and finally we check whether it suits our budget or not. Many of us buy DVDs to relish and share the moments of experiencing good cinema at home. Us collectors even go further a step forward to preserve those precious moments and feel pride in the ownership of those DVDs which embellish the shelves of our living room. Its sheer delight to admire and be admired because of your DVD collection that only a DVD collector is able to experience.
Throughout the listing, I have tried to rank DVDs based on the following criteria-
Decising Aspect Weightage
Video Quality 40%
Audio Quality 20%
Movie Rating 20%
Bonus Features 20%
10. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (The Braveheart will take the Bride), 1995
Actors: Shahrukh Khan, Amrish Puri, Kajol
Director: Aaditya Chopra
Language: Hindi
Imdb Rating: 7.9
About the movie:
This was the top Bollywood film of the 90s and after seeing it I really can't think of one that was better. There are some that are just as good but I can't recall seeing one that's better. The story's pretty routine: boy meets girl in Europe, they fall in love, girl is engaged to some other idiot, and the rest writes itself... Sound familiar? Well it wasn't back in '95 (or even if it was it wasn't done as well) and Aditya Chopra's treatment of the story was a big reason for it's success. In every other movie the couple first wants to kill each other before falling in love. But in this movie it's slightly different and more plausible. Shahrukh doesn't want to kill Kajol - I mean Kajol - and she doesn't really hate him either, she just (like the rest of us) is annoyed by the guy. Their situations aren't that far-fetched and their Europe storyline is played out quite realistically (of course the piano scene is an exception). This was the beginning of the "Shahrukh plays Shahrukh era" and, for what it's worth, he hasn't made a better movie or given a better performance since. Sure there are places where he overacts but there are just as many places where he's able to hit all his cues. His comic timing was never better and there was still some sincerity in his eyes, a reminder of the fact that he was still an actor, which has since been replaced by the cockiness of a megastar. This is the movie that shot him to superstardom and put him alongside Aamir and Salman. Kajol is just as good (if not better), and I think after their next movie they'll win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The supporting cast is fine although no one really stands out. There are many moments in the film, most notably in the script, where you might feel a sense of deja vu. But keep in mind that this was the original, it's everything else that's a rehash. Bollywood headed straight for the sewer after this movie with almost all films, many of them starring Shahrukh, copying the same formula. Even at its 3 hour length the movie never drags till after the two-hour mark. I also want to comment on the film's Art Direction because it warrants a mention. Whether it's in Europe, England, or India, the movie has a very natural look to it. Unlike today's big films like Dil To Pagal Hai, or K3G, this movie looks good without trying to look good and I think that's a quality that's been lost on today's films. Too much attention is spent on the look at the expense of the story (if there is one!). The soundtrack of course is a classic, truly one of the all-time bests, with almost every song being a hit. The film won an unprecedented number of awards while breaking many records. There was a feeling that Aditya would follow in his father Yash's footsteps but regrettably the pressure got to him. He followed this up with the dreadful Mohabbatein which was slammed by audiences and critics alike. But so what. His first film was good, and with the current state of Bollywood movies - Devdas anyone? - you really can't get better than this.
This was the top Bollywood film of the 90s and after seeing it I really can't think of one that was better. There are some that are just as good but I can't recall seeing one that's better. The story's pretty routine: boy meets girl in Europe, they fall in love, girl is engaged to some other idiot, and the rest writes itself... Sound familiar? Well it wasn't back in '95 (or even if it was it wasn't done as well) and Aditya Chopra's treatment of the story was a big reason for it's success. In every other movie the couple first wants to kill each other before falling in love. But in this movie it's slightly different and more plausible. Shahrukh doesn't want to kill Kajol - I mean Kajol - and she doesn't really hate him either, she just (like the rest of us) is annoyed by the guy. Their situations aren't that far-fetched and their Europe storyline is played out quite realistically (of course the piano scene is an exception). This was the beginning of the "Shahrukh plays Shahrukh era" and, for what it's worth, he hasn't made a better movie or given a better performance since. Sure there are places where he overacts but there are just as many places where he's able to hit all his cues. His comic timing was never better and there was still some sincerity in his eyes, a reminder of the fact that he was still an actor, which has since been replaced by the cockiness of a megastar. This is the movie that shot him to superstardom and put him alongside Aamir and Salman. Kajol is just as good (if not better), and I think after their next movie they'll win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The supporting cast is fine although no one really stands out. There are many moments in the film, most notably in the script, where you might feel a sense of deja vu. But keep in mind that this was the original, it's everything else that's a rehash. Bollywood headed straight for the sewer after this movie with almost all films, many of them starring Shahrukh, copying the same formula. Even at its 3 hour length the movie never drags till after the two-hour mark. I also want to comment on the film's Art Direction because it warrants a mention. Whether it's in Europe, England, or India, the movie has a very natural look to it. Unlike today's big films like Dil To Pagal Hai, or K3G, this movie looks good without trying to look good and I think that's a quality that's been lost on today's films. Too much attention is spent on the look at the expense of the story (if there is one!). The soundtrack of course is a classic, truly one of the all-time bests, with almost every song being a hit. The film won an unprecedented number of awards while breaking many records. There was a feeling that Aditya would follow in his father Yash's footsteps but regrettably the pressure got to him. He followed this up with the dreadful Mohabbatein which was slammed by audiences and critics alike. But so what. His first film was good, and with the current state of Bollywood movies - Devdas anyone? - you really can't get better than this.
About the DVD:
VIDEO It is very unusual for me to rate a DVD as "good" when it comes in a single disc edition without any special features or bonus footage but DDLJ DVD has its own surprises in its basket. First and the most important reason is that the movie is exceptionally good. A true collector ought to possess it his caboodle. Secondly, the print of the movie furnished is in its true anamorphic wide-screen format which is not very customary for bollywood movies of its age. Usually the Indian movies are presented in non-anamorphic form which has often manipulated aspect ratio. Cropping from both left and right portion of the screen used to be a norm. But the latest trends are inclining to the opposite. So is this DVD. The print as described "anamorphic wide-screen" means it is reproduced on the DVD exactly the same way the director of this movie filmed it. In fact it would be precise to say that exactly the same way the director intended to film it in his camera. Thus the aspect ratio of the print is 2.35:1. That is if the horizontal dimension of print is divided by the vertical dimension, then the result would be 2.35 which is just the same as the dimension of standard film-frame (celluloid frame) of this movie. This inclination towards technicalities of the film and thus film may seem out of place but it is necessary for those who are new to this pleasure and delectation of watching movies and DVD collection. Later on as you proceed forward these technical details will become more objective.
AUDIO
The music of this film is exceptionally good. All the tracks of film were chartbusters and even now they are as good. because the good music of a bollywood film never dies rather it becomes more valuable as the time passes. So to catch up with such a good music, Yash Raj has presented in both stereo dolby digital and 5.1 channel sound. Whenever songs play, output from central woofer is not observed because these songs don't need bass. For rest of the movie we do get some eventual output from it. All five satellites of sound system work fine.
Video Quality 9/10
Audio Quality 9/10
Movie Rating 10/10
Bonus Features 0/10
Overall: 7.4/10
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