My greying hair, rumpling eyes, popping knees or my grown up kids - nothing remind me more of my age than suddenly finding out that it has been 20 years since Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge was released- socho! Such a dramatic reminder and that too from the movie that set standards of friendship, family and love, glamour, broken hearts, teary smiles and very starry nights.

"Bade bade desho mein, chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain"

The Kajol-SRK starrer created ripples in the movie industry and young hearts alike. Whether it was the dusky, young Kajol with her girl-next-door appeal or the SRK with his understated humour and oversized blazers, the movie was an instant hit worldwide. Dialogues from DDLJ have been laid down as words of wisdom for many moons to come.

And while we are all ageing away, SRK, during all these years, has climbed hills and slopes and conquered emotions, hearts and feelings through his celebrated acting and articulate words. What doesn’t come as a surprise is his recent Doctorate, awarded by the University of Edinburgh. His speech on life lessons at the University had the crowd engaged and everyone seemed to be hanging onto his words as if they were the last morsels of life.

One essential message in DDLJ was to follow your heart, to follow deep relations and to fearlessly tread where life takes you. And amongst the many essential life lessons that SRK talked about at the University of Edinburgh, they all revolved around not boxing your desires and feelings, not letting your fears control you and to keep the flame of passion alive.

"Don’t let your fears become boxes that enclose you. Open them out, feel them and turn them into the greatest courage you are capable of."

DDLJ beautifully portrayed the wiggles and wobbles of the heart, the thin line between friendship and love, the platonic and the not so platonic heartaches, and above all, the strength of pure, unadulterated love. Coincidentally the speech carried similar messages.

"It is ok to be confused.  Confusion is the route to all the clarity in the world"

Once we let the heart do the talking, it makes and breaks life yet remains the most forceful proponent of life and that is what Raj and Simran portrayed through their seamless acting. And the excerpt from the speech tells us the same:

 "Live from the heart. Dil se. Love. Love people, love the world around you…your friends and your enemies even if you feel least like it."

 I am beginning to wonder if the speech was really a more mature extension of DDLJ or better still, hearty instructions to lead a love-filled life. Whatever it may be, the ‘Lungi Dance’ by the sharply clad SRK in the University of Edinburgh took the cake. Rewinding 20 years and going back to DDLJ, whether SRK was dancing to the peppy title track or romancing Simran over the melodious mandolin, everything about the movie oozed warmth, friendship and love.

And talking of friendship and love, chocolate happens to be my most sturdy, confusion free, dependable camaraderie. Hot Chocolate, with squishy marshmallows, is a no brainer; it’s an absolute warm, smooth, silky and peaceful, love-struck combination. Minimalistic effort and gigantic comfort - this soothing drink is meant to be addictive - just like Chocolate Hero SRK (despite his believing that he wasn’t "chocolately enough" when he started out!)

"Agar woh mujhse pyaar karti hai, toh paltegi. Palat … Palat … Palat"