Fashion
designer
Manish
Malhotra
brought
his
A-game
on
for
the
Aditya
Chopra
directorial,
Dilwale
Dulhania
Le
Jayenge
and
wowed
India
and
Indians
with
costumes
and
styling
that
has
made
DDLJ
one
of
the
most
fashionable
films
of
all
time.
Tomorrow,
Shah
Rukh
Khan
and
Kajol
starrer
Dilwale
Dulhania
Le
Jayenge
(lovingly
also
called
DDLJ)
will
complete
25
years.
On
this
occasion,
Manish
opened
up
about
his
vision
with
DDLJ
that
made
costume
design
an
integral
part
of
every
film's
creative
roadmap
going
forward.
Q.
DDLJ's
looks
are
considered
iconic.
They
are
a
part
of
Indian
pop
culture
history.
What
was
the
inspiration
behind
that?
A.
For
a
film,
the
most
important
part
is
the
script.
It's
the
narrative
and
the
vision
of
the
director.
There
was
something
so
refreshing
about
the
film
&
their
characters,
it
was
such
a
golden
opportunity
to
do
something
which
was
new.
I
was
always
determined
when
I
come
into
films,
I
would
want
to
do
something
that
stands
out
and
give
all
characters
a
look
that
will
stay
on.
DDLJ
was
a
script
when
Adi
narrated
it,
we
went
crazy
about
it.
Being
a
huge
fan
of
Yash
Raj
and
Yash
Chopra
ji,
for
me
it
was
almost
like
a
dream
come
true.
Adi
was
very
clear
that
he
wanted
Kajol
to
be
very
real
but
yet
there
is
a
clever
quotient
to
her
and
that
synergy
I
think
came
across
very,
very
strongly
in
DDLJ's
costumes
where
they
were
relatable
but
yet
there
was
something
new
and
special
about
them.
I
think
that's
what
stayed
on
with
the
characters
in
Indian
cinema.
It
was
real
but
yet
had
a
certain
dreamy,
certain
aspirational
and
certain
style
element
about
them
and
that
worked.
Q.
Tell
us
about
your
creative
collaboration
with
Aditya
Chopra
who
was
directing
his
first
film
with
DDLJ.
A.
We
went
on
to
doing
so
many
films
together,
whether
it
was
DDLJ
or
Mohabbatein,
Dil
To
Pagal
Hai,
Veer-Zaara,
Jab
Tak
Hai
Jaan.
Aditya
Chopra
is
a
brilliant
director,
a
true
visionary.
A
person
with
a
very
clear
mindset
and
a
very
clear
understanding
of
Indian
cinema
and
what
he
wants
to
represent.
He
is
one
of
my
most
favourite
directors
and
the
quality
that
Adi
has
is
that
he
has
got
great
conviction
and
convincing
power.
I
think
it's
the
clarity
of
the
kind
of
genre,
the
kind
of
characters,
look,
acting,
what
the
characters
are
made
out
of,
what
are
they
speaking,
how
they
are
saying,
how
are
they
looking
at
life,
what
do
they
have
to
say
-
there
are
so
many
things
that
he
had
to
put
into
those
characters
in
DDLJ
and
he
did
it
brilliantly.
I
think
our
association
went
on
for
years
because
he
kind
of
understood
that
I
have
a
similar
passion
for
movies
and
I
would
work
hard
to
give
the
characters
that
perfect
blend
of
glamour
and
reality
that
he
liked.
Q.
DDLJ
gave
India
an
on-screen
couple
of
SRK
and
Kajol
to
fall
in
love
with.
What
did
you
love
about
their
characters
in
their
film?
A.
I
think
their
characters
were
beautifully
written.
They
were
very
young,
they
were
very
fresh,
they
were
very
new
for
the
fact
that
he
wanted
Kajol
to
wear
glasses,
he
wanted
her
going
on
Euro
rail,
how
a
conservative
father
allows
her
to
do
that,
for
Shah
Rukh
-
actually
traveling
back
to
India
to
get
the
girl,
so
there
were
so
many
high
moments
in
the
film,
moments
that
youth
connected
with.
I
think
Aditya
has
great
understanding
of
the
medium
of
filmmaking
as
well
as
what
the
audience
wants
and
it
was
extremely
fun
working
on
this
film.
Pam
aunty
also
would
be
discussing
clothes
with
us,
Yashji
would
be
so
excited
about
the
clothes
and
there
would
be
so
much
food
after
every
discussion.
Written
and
directed
by
debutant
Aditya
Chopra,
DDLJ
shattered
all
box
office
records
and
is
one
of
the
biggest
all-time
blockbusters
in
the
history
of
Hindi
cinema.
It
also
went
on
to
become
the
longest-running
Hindi
film
of
all
time!
DDLJ
is
also
the
winner
of
a
record-breaking
(at
the
time)
10
Filmfare
Awards
and
the
film
literally
changed
the
face
of
Bollywood
globally.
The
film
was
made
at
a
budget
of
Rs.
4
crore
and
the
blockbuster,
in
1995,
collected
Rs.
89
crore
in
India,
13.50
crore
in
overseas
markets.
Thus,
total
collections
stood
at
Rs.
102.50
crore
worldwide
in
1995!
In
today's
inflation
adjusted
value,
DDLJ's
collection
stands
at
a
staggering
Rs.
455
crore
in
India
and
Rs.
69
crore
in
overseas
territories,
taking
the
total
worldwide
collections
to
a
phenomenal
Rs.
524
crore!