Was Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘palat’ scene in DDLJ copied? Aditya Chopra makes BIG revelation

Shah Rukh Khan starrer Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge has a ‘Palat’ scene which became iconic upon release and continues to be relevant even now among the fans. However, not many know the scene is not original but an inspiration from a Hollywood movie. 

Aditya Chopra confesses about Raj’s ‘Palat’ scene 

Recently, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge director Aditya Chopra admitted that the iconic ‘palat’ scene with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol was not his idea, but taken from a similar moment in Clint Eastwood’s 1993 Hollywood film ‘In the Line of Fire’. He revealed that he drew inspiration from Rene Russo’s character Lilly Raines, who starts to walk away from Clint Eastwood’s Frank Horrigan, saying, “If she looks back, that means she is interested.

For the unversed, the ‘palat’ scene in question from DDLJ has a similar happening, as in this scene, Raj (played by SRK) talks to himself, saying that if Simran (played by Kajol) turns back, it means she loves him. Of course, Simran eventually turns around.  Though the lines are strikingly similar, Raj is portrayed as a hopeless romantic, while in the Hollywood film, Frank delivers the line as a casual observation about women.

In the book Aditya Chopra Relives Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Chopra revealed that Raj’s ‘Palat’ scene was inspired by the Eastwood sequence. He wrote that the Hollywood scene remained with him after watching it and came to mind while writing DDLJ. 

About ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge marked Aditya Chopra’s directorial debut. The film also starred Amrish Puri, Anupam Kher, Farida Jalal, Himani Shivpuri, Parmeet Sethi, and others. Released on October 20, 1995, the film is one of Hindi cinema’s most iconic films. The movie recently completed 30 years this month. The film redefined Bollywood romance for a generation and is famous for its record-breaking, decades-long theatrical run at the Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai.