Dilwale will witness the return of the iconic Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ) pair of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. But except for the word ‘Dilwale’, this Rohit Shetty directed film seems to have little in common with the 1997 romance, which catapulted SRK and Kajol into a new league of fame, and redefined the middle-class film genre for the next decande.
The trailer is a let down from the very beginning. We are subjected to 18 seconds of logo animations from both production companies (Gauri Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Rohit Shetty Productions). We then see Shah Rukh doing his signature pose on top of a ruined aircraft. Dil toh sabke paas hota hai, Par sab Dilwale Nahi hai, he says. Cut to shots of glorious locations. If the pictures look extremely familiar, it’s because Windows XP wallpapers showed them first.
Next comes 10 long seconds of Rohit Shetty blowing his own trumpet about his previous films. Though whether he should be all that proud of Bol Bachchan and All The Best is debatable. A few nostalgia inducing shots of SRK and Kajol where Kajol looks as if her two-month old puppy is sick. Next comes Varun Dhawan’s spoiled brat entry, accompanied with Rohit Shetty’s favorite cast, namely, the cars. Varun Dhawan drives cars. Rashly, of course. He plays SRK’s younger brother. Kriti Sanon, the other half of the romance, looks well styled and suave. Her face crumples just once, when Varun tells her that she’s in direct competition with King Khan. Understandable.
Johnny Lever’s golden days must be well behind him. He shows up to make the obligatory homophobic joke, and it’s not even funny. Though given that this is an SRK film, maybe it’s meant as a comment on how bad these jokes are. We then see Boman Irani in a graveyard. He’s a rich Parsi man, and Sanjay Mishra matches him costume for costume. There’s the usual SRK meta-comedy as he reminds Kajol of exactly how long it’s been, in response to her very serious ‘I missed you’ moment.
More cars, more drifts, more stunts, more guns. Rohit Shetty perhaps has an inexplicable urge to destroy cars. He continues to set new records with every film when it comes to the number of cars crushed.
The trailer ends with Sharukh saying – “Don’t show me your face ever again, I will kill you.” The audience has a similar reaction. Come December 18 and we’ll know whether Dilwale is a less disappointing than its trailer.