Highlights:
- Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in London to reveal a new bronze piece from DDLJ
- Statue in Leicester Square on the Scenes in the Square walkway
- Marks the first time an Indian film is honoured with a statue in the area
- The pair spoke about the film’s long life and the bond fans still feel with it
Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol were in London to mark 30 years of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. A bronze statue of their pose from the film has been placed at Leicester Square, right by the Odeon. Fans know the spot well; Raj and Simran walk past each other there in one early scene, barely noticing, long before the story takes off.
Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol unveil the DDLJ statue at Leicester Square X/
Why the DDLJ statue matters in London
The statue shows Raj and Simran in their well-known pose, a frame that has lived on in posters for decades. It is now part of the Scenes in the Square trail, which already features figures from Harry Potter, Mary Poppins, Paddington and Singin’ in the Rain. This makes DDLJ the first Indian film to be added to the line-up.
A line of tourists and fans gathered early, phones out, waiting to see the two actors unveil the sculpture. Yash Raj Films’ CEO Akshaye Widhani and Heart of London Business Alliance chief Ros Morgan were present. London authorities have been working with the studio for months to finalise the piece and place it on the eastern terrace outside the Odeon.
Khan told the crowd the film was made “with a pure heart” and said its message of love crossing borders still stays with him. Kajol paused in front of the statue for a few seconds and said it felt like “a bit of our own past coming back to us.”
DDLJ shaped Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol’s careers
The film came out in 1995, with Aditya Chopra directing it for Yash Raj Films. It went on to become the longest-running film in Indian cinema, with daily shows still playing at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir. Raj and Simran quickly became household names, shaping how young audiences understood romance on screen.
Both actors have often spoken about how the film shadowed their later work. Khan once said he never expected people to hold Raj so close for so long. Kajol has called Simran “a chapter that refuses to end”, a line that stays with fans because it feels true; you still hear people quote “Ja Simran, ja” in conversations.
The London connection to DDLJ
Leicester Square appears early in the movie, with Raj near the Vue cinema and Simran at the Odeon, unaware of each other. For long-time fans, this tiny detail now holds new meaning with the statue placed between those two spots.
Other London locations from the film include King’s Cross station, Tower Bridge, Hyde Park and Horseguards Avenue. The new installation joins them on the informal map fans use to revisit the movie’s route through the city. The statue is the eleventh figure in the Scenes in the Square trail, run by the Heart of London Business Alliance with support from Westminster City Council.
Final word
A stage version, Come Fall in Love – The DDLJ Musical, played in Manchester earlier this year, adding to the film’s list of off-screen chapters. Thirty years on, Raj and Simran now stand in bronze, a reminder of a film that never really left the screen.
