DDLJ statue to be unveiled in London

The statue of the iconic duo Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol from the film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) will be featured in the Leicester Square's 'Scenes in the Square', Heart of London Business Alliance announced on Monday.

This will be the first-ever long-term Bollywood statue erected in the UK. The announcement, thus, marks the 25th anniversary of Indian cinema's most loved film, DDLJ, and also coincides with the big 50th year celebrations of Yash Raj Films.

The statue is set to be unveiled in Spring 2021 when organisers hope that Khan and Kajol, who played Raj and Simran in the movie, will be able to travel to unveil the statue in a special celebratory event.

The location couldn't be more fitting, as Leicester Square featured in DDLJ in a scene when Raj and Simran first cross paths, albeit unbeknown to one another.

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 crores and the blockbuster, in 1995, collected Rs. 89 crore in India, Rs. 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 455 crore in India and Rs. 69 crore in overseas territories, taking the total worldwide collections to a phenomenal Rs. 524 crore.

The statue will join nine other film icons from the past 100 years, eight of which were unveiled in late February and recently granted longer-term residency by Westminster Council to remain in Leicester Square until at least July 2023. In September a statue of Harry Potter also joined the original line up, while visitors can still encounter Laurel & Hardy, Bugs Bunny, Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain, Mary Poppins, Mr. Bean, Paddington, and iconic DC Super-Heroes Batman and Wonder Woman.