Because that is what it is: forgettable. It is not a typically bad film; average would be the best way to describe it. As I write this comment/review I notice that all of the 21 comments posted are positive, which is quite similar to 99.9 percent of the people I know who have seen this film. Well being a lefty myself, minority status is nothing new to me.
DDLJ has some great very funny moments. The breezy romance part is also ok. But where the film falls flat is where many other films from the Chopra/Johar stable - like DTPH, KKHH, KKKG and M (that's Mohabbatein by the way) fall flat. They try to elevate melodrama that has the depth of a daytime soap to some sort of elitist civilization. And if this was being done for purely commerical effect, you could go along with it. But to interpret philosophies of life, love and society from such shabby and shallow material is insulting to the viewer.
Shahrukh Khan must be a great human being I am sure (most of the film fraternity thinks so) and because of his tremendous success, he has also achieved superstar status. But an amazing actor he is not. Versatile he is not. Character portrayal, he does not do. Hamming comes more naturally to him though.
Kajole's spontaneity has been better expressed in a film like Dushman where she actually does something other than use her cleavage to fall in love with Shahrukh (as in KKHH) or wear a miniskirt in the rain to show her conservatism (as is DDLJ).
Aditya Chopra's film is regressive, cliched and I personally feel that his brand of cinema causes tremendous damage to the impressionable teenager. Because many of them learn about romance and romantic relationships from it. And to think that you have actually spend your time and your money to view this.
But as I write this review in 2003, I feel optimistic that Johar/Chopra brand of filmmaking has lesser popular appeal today. The audience has shown that they want something different and more imaginative. And with there being such a high volume of releases week after week, the filmmakers are returning the nod of approval with extrememly imaginative screenplays, even though occassionally incoherent. As far as DDLJ is concerned, 5/10.
DDLJ has some great very funny moments. The breezy romance part is also ok. But where the film falls flat is where many other films from the Chopra/Johar stable - like DTPH, KKHH, KKKG and M (that's Mohabbatein by the way) fall flat. They try to elevate melodrama that has the depth of a daytime soap to some sort of elitist civilization. And if this was being done for purely commerical effect, you could go along with it. But to interpret philosophies of life, love and society from such shabby and shallow material is insulting to the viewer.
Shahrukh Khan must be a great human being I am sure (most of the film fraternity thinks so) and because of his tremendous success, he has also achieved superstar status. But an amazing actor he is not. Versatile he is not. Character portrayal, he does not do. Hamming comes more naturally to him though.
Kajole's spontaneity has been better expressed in a film like Dushman where she actually does something other than use her cleavage to fall in love with Shahrukh (as in KKHH) or wear a miniskirt in the rain to show her conservatism (as is DDLJ).
Aditya Chopra's film is regressive, cliched and I personally feel that his brand of cinema causes tremendous damage to the impressionable teenager. Because many of them learn about romance and romantic relationships from it. And to think that you have actually spend your time and your money to view this.
But as I write this review in 2003, I feel optimistic that Johar/Chopra brand of filmmaking has lesser popular appeal today. The audience has shown that they want something different and more imaginative. And with there being such a high volume of releases week after week, the filmmakers are returning the nod of approval with extrememly imaginative screenplays, even though occassionally incoherent. As far as DDLJ is concerned, 5/10.