India, Jan. 24 -- Raj isn't just a name. It's a franchise. SRK has played a Raj at least eight times, but this first one was special: A nod to Raj Kapoor and his musical, romantic grammar. Even the mandolin matters. Raj Kapoor often entered scenes to mandolin music. Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane may sound like Bachna Ae Haseeno, but the real homage is in the vibes. SRK's piano histrionics. The flailing limbs. The relentless flirting. It is pure Shammi Kapoor energy. The Farah Khan choreography is '60s rock 'n' roll, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. It's like watching Shammi Kapoor dancing and flirting in the opening credits of An Evening in Paris - but with a '90s filter. Raj's dad, Dharamvir Malhotra (Anupam Kher), wears a hat that's very similar to Yash Chopra's. It's clearly a tribute. Especially since his character is a rarity in '90s cinema: Emotionally available, gentle, non-toxic. He's the one who shapes Raj into the soft boi and green flag that he is. The kind of man who is secure, who helps with chores and who fasts with Simran on Karwa Chauth. Swoon. A train is never just a train in an SRK movie. It's a motif, a metaphor. In DDLJ, it is destiny, adventure and self-discovery. In Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), it drives SRK and Kajol apart. In Dil Se.. (1998), it's the trundling venue for Chaiyya Chaiyya, as well as a symbol of his obsession and self-destruction. In Swades (2004), it serves as a moving snapshot of India. In Chennai Express (2013), it throws SRK into romance, danger and culture shock. Yes, it's really that deep. In an effort to befriend Simran's Punjabi dude-bro fiance, SRK decides to hijack his hunting session. What follows is a totally ridiculous scene, in which Kuljeet (Parmeet Sethi) is caught in a snare and is hoisted mid-air. SRK growls like a tiger from behind a tree (commitment to the bit: 10/10). Then he emerges in a cowboy hat, shooting the rope like a Man With No Name. The score is The Good, The Bad and The Ugly theme, of course. The joke lands because SRK's floppy-haired, feelings-forward masculinity is the exact opposite of Eastwood's stone-faced alpha shtick. We know this scene. SRK is standing on a bridge in Saanen, Switzerland. Kajol is walking away. He tells himself that if she loves him, she'll turn around: "Palat. palat. palat" . And then, she looks back at him. Yay! Some claim it's inspired by the 1993 film In the Line of Fire (in which Clint Eastwood says something similar to Rene Russo). They're wrong. This is a callback to Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992). Nana Patekar tells Raju to "palat. palat. palat". And who was Raju? Shah Rukh Khan, obvs. That scene in which SRK helps That scene in which SRK helps Kajol's bua Kammo (Himani Shivpuri) select a sari from afar through his dramatic "Yes. No. Pass" gestures? That's from the classic 1957 courtroom drama Witness for the Prosecution, based on a short story by Agatha Christie. The OG scene has lead actor Tyrone Power helping wealthy spinster Miss Emily French select hats through similar gestures from outside the store. Rob Reiner's The Sure Thing (1985) also follows two opposites, Gib and Alison, who fall in love on a road trip. Alison is uptight and type A. Simran, say hi. Gib is chaotic, go-with-the-flow. Raj, obviously. They split from the group. They're forced to team up. They run into trouble. They survive bad weather by getting drunk. No Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main interlude. Their loss. The Palat scene has its own fandom. It's been referenced in dozens of films since, including son Aryan Khan's show The Ba****ds of Bollywood. It also appears in the Korean drama Youth of May. In the fourth episode, as Kim Myung-hee (Go Min-si) parts ways with Hwang Hee-tae (Lee Do-hyun), he whispers "doedora bwa" (look back). She does. Fans have since slapped the DDLJ score over the scene. It hits just the same. DDLJ and Chandni belong on the same Pinterest moodboard. Both have Swiss landscapes, snow and romance. Both have women dancing by the Alps (Kajol in Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main and Sridevi in Chandni O Meri Chandni). Both feature women in the rain in white (Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye and Parbat Se Kaali Ghata). Even the line "cognac sharaab nahi hoti" is recycled. Rishi Kapoor said it first. A bonus Chandni egg: In Na Jaane Mere, SRK wears a red-and-white sweater lifted straightfrom Rishi Kapoor's Chandni wardrobe....