Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge has emerged as an iconic film and continues to rule our hearts even after 22 years. One of its most memorable scenes, that can never leave one’s memory, has to be the ‘Palat’ sequence. It involves when Raj, essayed by Shah Rukh Khan, sees Simran, played by Kajol, moving ahead. Raj tells himself that if Simran loves you, she’ll turn around and look at you. She doesn’t do it for the first few seconds and Raj keeps saying ‘Palat’. Finally, before boarding a turn, she looks at Raj and gives a lovely smile, which leaves Raj grinning from ear to ear. This sequence has been loved a lot and even today, viewers start chanting ‘Palat’ in Maratha Mandir, where the film is running successfully.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge released in the 90s, which was the time when Hindi filmmakers blatantly copied scenes from Hollywood or sometimes, the entire film. When confronted, these filmmakers shy away from talking about these allegations. People like Anu Malik, who lifted many tunes, get irked when anybody even hints about this topic.
Aditya Chopra however is different. In the book ‘Aditya Chopra Relives…Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, written by Nasreen Munni Kabir, the writer-director-producer has no qualms in admitting that the classic ‘Palat’ sequence is in fact copied from a 1993 Clint Eastwood thriller, In The Line Of Fire. In this film, Clint Eastwood's character Frank Horrigan meets Lilly Raines, played by Rene Russo, at Washington DC's Lincoln Memorial. Lilly leaves and Frank says under his breath, “If she looks back, it means she's interested.” She doesn’t at first, prompting Frank to tell himself, “Come on, give me a look back now. Just give me that smug expression and be on your way.” Finally, Lilly does look back.
Regarding this scene, Aditya Chopra says, “It got stuck in my head. Then I forgot all about it. When I was writing this scene (in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge), it came back to me. I liked the idea and used it here.”
Have a look at both the scenes and decide for yourself which scene came out better!