Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaengy : DDLJ Film Objections to white hero for Raj role after 27 years

USA United States : Bollywood fans are not happy with the choice of hero in this play which is being produced as DDLJ Musical.

Name of the character has also-been changed from Raj to Rog which is being seen as racial discrimination.

This film is also commonly called as DDLJ. King Shah Rukh Khan played the role of Raj in the film & it was this role that introduced Shah Rukh Khan as the Romance King.It is seen as 01of Shah Rukh's most impressive roles till date.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaengy DDLJ


In the world of cinema & theater the act of casting a white person in a role associated with a particular race is called whitewashing.

DDLJ  Film fans are also surprised that something like this is coming out in the year 2022 when strong voices are being raised against racial discrimination around world.

Popular Indian chef Vikas Khanna tweeted that he was happy to know about DDLJ film being played on stage but now he is very disappointed. Vikas has more than 2.2 million followers on Twitter.

A 20 year old fan of DDLJ Paridhi Puri said Raj role being whitewashed is a very sad thing.


Kajol & King  Shah Rukh Khan are considered as 01 of the best couples of Bollywood

Paridhi believes that the connection with the foreign country shown in  film is special and memorable in itself.

Both the main characters of DDLJ film live outside India. He said that what is the feeling of living in another country, it is shown in a very powerful way in the film.

Speaking to the British news Paridhi said: dians living abroad felt same conflict in this film which is itself an important part of their lives. What an eye opening experience it must have-been for that era.

He said With any remake of a film you expect that this time the story will-be told in a better way. &  things will-be reformed according to the present times.

Paridhi believes that Asian American actors would like to be cast in such roles & showcase their culture in a place where historically this has not been the case & should be cast in such roles.

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Paridhi feels that DDLJ was not a mediocre film. This movie helped us bring our parents and their parents closer to each other. And I think this film will do the same in the future too.

Bollywood musical DDLJ Film accused of whitewashing Objections white hero

Austin Colby


An attempt to retell a 27 year-old story

Analysis by British news Asian Network correspondent Haroon Rasheed

DDLJ is considered one of the greatest romantic films of Bollywood. It is the story of a young man who falls in love with a girl & says that he will win the heart of her family elders to get her side. It seems like movie goers are also willing to support him in this endeavour.

This role of King Shah Rukh Khan became a hit as soon as the film was released. & this is where his journey to become King of Romance took off.

Although the film director Aditya Chopra had not chosen Shahrukh khan for the role earlier. They wanted to portray the character as a foreigner & Hollywood actor Tom Cruise was also considered for it.

A Broadway play of the film could be fulfillment of a dream he had before making the film 27 years ago.

Simran was played by Kajol in the film. Raj & Simran became an example to all couples who were willing to do whatever it took to convince their families to get each other side.

Success of this film can be gauged from the fact that even today it is shown in some cinemas in Mumbai. Also a bridge in Switzerland is called DDLJ Bridge. The poster of the movie is still hanging on this bridge.


Austin Colby

In an interview given to the news agency Variety he said I am not the Raj at all that Shah Rukh Khan forced you to love. Nor will I try to be him.

Some fans of Shah Rukh Khan have also written on social media that they will not go to see this play.

Vikas Khanna also tweeted that why is a very beautiful love story of India being ruined. I remember period when I was harassed for my complexion. It hurts me to see all this happening.

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The producer of this Broadway play is Indian film company Raj Films. He has not yet responded to British news questions about this.

Musical will premiere in San Diego in September followed by Broadway in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.