Unlike earlier films where the NRI was portrayed as a debauched and decadent figure, Dilwale is the first of the 1990s films ‘that turned Bollywood’s NRI stereotype on its head’ (Chopra 2002: 11–12). The presence of NRIs and a narrative quest to define ‘Indianness’ irrespective of geographical location ensured that the film received considerable scholarly and journalistic attention for the way it reframed ideas of nationhood and tradition for a globalised Indian context. Dilwale was shot in India, London and Switzerland and is one of the first films of the 1990s geared to appeal to the Indian diaspora by typically reinventing the NRI as a new figure of national identity.ĭilwale’s success both outside India and in the domestic market made it a trendsetter for lavishly mounted family films of the 1990s that moved across the world. The last shot of the film shows the couple board a train to leave the small town of Punjab.
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After a series of twists, conflicts, comic moments and high drama, the couple is reunited with the blessings of both families. Simran’s mother, Lajjo feels empathy for her daughter and at one point tells her to elope with Raj. When Raj discovers the family has left for their homeland, he is encouraged by his father to follow with a mission to get his love back. A heartbroken Simran is left with no choice but to leave London with her family. The romance in Europe shatters everything for Simran as her enraged father, Baldev insists that the family move back to Punjab for Simran’s marriage to his childhood friend’s son, Kuljeet. While Raj comes from an upper-class family, Simran belongs to a traditional middle-class conservative family. Dilwale tells the story of Simran and Raj, both non-resident Indians (NRIs) from London, who meet each other during a European vacation in the early 1990s.