**Warning: Spoilers ahead **

DDLJ has to be one of the top most iconic Bollywood movies of my childhood and most people would agree with this. When they announced they were turning this into a Broadway musical, I had mixed emotions, one of excitement and then another of concern. Excitement because we were finally getting representation through Aditya Chopra bringing this nostalgic story to life. Concern because of the potential possibility that I wouldn’t love it as much or that it would ruin the impact of the original, you know in the way of how a sequel of a movie is never as good as the first? Yeah, that way. The cast and crew was promising though, and I knew all the makings of this made it worth it for me to make the trip out to SD and see this show.

The Cast

The cast was amazing. Truly everyone in the cast was cast super super well and acted / danced / sang really well. Of course Shobha Narayan killed it, but really the entire cast stole my heart. They really embraced the culture and honestly the dancing in this show was a lot more involved than other Broadway productions. The amount of hard work and training really showed!

The Story

Getting to the point, the story was the same but also different as expected. To be completely honest though, there are a ton of plot holes in the original movie and obviously we still love it anyway, so had they followed the movie exactly, it would be completely off for this current time period. The story of the musical, while closely followed the big elements, had a twist of modernism, as well as comedy that was very much inspired by the original. You could hear the audience feel every emotion that was getting portrayed which is a classic theme for Bollywood movies and was well translated into this musical. Some of the iconic scenes from the movie such as the beer scene, Simran getting drunk, the wedding scenes and the beginning and ending train scene were all very much present. For someone who’s never seen the movie, these weren’t scenes that felt out of place or anything but for people who had it really helped keep the reminder and theme going throughout the show which I appreciated!

The Music

DDLJ is known for its music, the soundtrack is a staple on my phone! I think it may be that this was the only piece of disconnect for me because I just did not resonate with any of the songs. I loved that they used the original instrumentals in parts of the show that again tied it all together. They did use one of the original songs for a brief moment which really was nice. What I did appreciate about the music was that the timing was very much in line with the film. Essentially there was a song “in replacement” of every song from the soundtrack.

The Details

This is where I was both really shocked and really appreciative cause the attention to detail was like no other. I liked that they didn’t obviously follow the movie to a T but there were so many nods to it throughout. The costume for example is a major one that was so subtle but when I watched DDLJ after, it really hit home. Simran has an outfit in the song Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Mein which is a white peasant style crop top and a rust colored skirt with boots and this is the outfit that is worn in Shobha’s first scene ever. Also the iconic cowbell, the sets, the train scenes, everything was a nod to the film but made sense in the plot if you had no idea was DDLJ was.

Overall Thoughts

In terms of the show overall I am pleased to say that I LOVED it. I loved it separate from the movie and while I think they share similarities, I think they are two different stories that I can appreciate on their own. I think this show would appeal to a variety of audiences and I can tell from the audience in my show that multiple backgrounds and cultures could step in and enjoy it. I am so glad they chose to make this show and hope that it goes on to play in NYC!

PS. I took 2 of my friends who are not as Bollywood-obsessed and they also LOVED the show and enjoyed themselves a ton.

If you happen to be in SD or want to go see this show, I 100000% think you should go should you have the chance. Below are details on how to get a ticket while it’s still running.

Tickets for Come Fall In Love