Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ( " The Bravehearted Will Take the Bride " ), universally known as DDLJ, opened to huge popular acclaim in India in 1995. Audiences flocked back to see it again and again. Directed by first-time film-maker Aditya Chopra, it has since become the longest-running film in the history of Indian cinema - and changed the face of Bollywood. DDLJ was one of the earliest contemporary Hinid film to focus on Indian residents abroad (specifically, in this case, London). It's a heady cocktail of European locations, flashy cars, gorgeous mansions - a feast for a newly liberalised nation - and the hearty, rustic traditions of the Punjab. DDLJ has spawned numerous imitations and epitomised popular Indian cinema today.

But, as Anupama Chopra points out, it's a surprising film in that it upholds old-fashioned values of premarital chastity and family authority, affirming the idea that Westernisation need not affect an essential Indian identity.

DDLJ is a far cry from the work of an older generation of film-makers who often spoke against the oppressiveness of tradition, sometimes proposing radical alternatives. Whereas the lovers of a previous generation might attempt to flee from their interfering families, DDLJ's lovers need the approval of their elders.

Having conducted in-depth interviews with the film-makers, Chopra gives the definitive account of a Bollywood phenomenon.

© Anupama Chopra 2007