A Christmas Love Story: A Dilwale and a Dulhaniye

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The Bollywood film ‘Dilwale Dulhaniye Le Jayega’ is known for its iconic scene of the hero on the train waiting for the bride to jump on to the train with him. The scene has been recreated many times to show one’s love for the other. One of the more recent imitations of this scene was in Rohit Shetty’s ‘Chennai Express’ though it was done in a more comic manner.

This iconic romantic scene very well depicts God’s relation with us. God is the protagonist on the train waits for us to turn and run to Him. However, most often our run towards God is marred by obstacles and distractions that keep us occupied. But, God’s focus and gaze on us is fixed. His hands remain outstretched to hold us and pull us close to him. It is we who need to maintain our focus on him. In truth, our whole life is a run towards God. Whether we reach him or no is all dependent on how we live our lives.


The season of Advent is a time of preparation for the Christmas festivity. It is a time to clear out our obstacles and distractions so as to move closer to God. However, the Christmas season is also special in its own way. It is the season in which we remember God’s coming to us. In the train scene, it will be as if God has moved to another compartment so as to come close to us. What an expression of love that God shows us!

Christ, the Dilwale, waits for us, the members of the Church [his Dulhaniye]. As we enter into this Christmas season, let us not engage in festivities similar to ancient Roman saturnalia. Rather, let us celebrate this great act of love by reciprocating it to others especially those in need. In this way, we move closer to the lodestar of our life, namely God, and jump onto the train like the bride in Dilwale Dulhaniye Le Jayega.

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