National Geographic Traveller India – July 2019

ENGLAND

N

o one romances better

than Shah Rukh Khan.

My first memory of

love, or a man I love, is

of him. SRK, dimple-

cheeked, arms wide open, standing in

a mustard field in Dilwale Dulhania

Le Jayenge (DDLJ), is what dreams

are made of. Or him hopping off a

helicopter and whipping off his shades

in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G);

or him dancing in the rain with Kajol

in a gazebo in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai;

or in the black suit leaning rakishly

against a pillar, whispering to Madhuri

Dixit “aur paas” in Dil To Pagal Hai...

these are all scenes ensconced in my

memory. There is no movie of his I

haven’t seen, even the questionable

ones that fair-weather fans avoid.

But with him comes another

association—that of London. Off-

screen, it’s one of Khan’s favourite

cities. He’s bought a house there and

shooting in London, he says, makes

him happy.

Call it colonial hangover, but the

city has always fascinated Indians.

The idea of London intrigues, entices,

and is shown beautifully in Shah

Rukh Khan’s movies. Take Aditya

Chopra’s DDLJ (1995). The opening

scene sees the patriarch Chaudhry

Baldev Singh (Amrish Puri) feeding

pigeons in Trafalgar Square(a n a c t

now banned) and dreaming of Punjab

before he hears the bells of St. Martin-

in-the-Fields, and walks back to his

shop in Indian-dominated Southall

in West London. He takes the most

KING'S

The London Eye

London

Trafalgar Square

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ENGLAND

JULY 2019 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 65