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A decade of ‘Dilwale’
‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Lay Jayenge’ is still shown to a 60 to 70 per cent packed Maratha Mandir in Bombay. On weekends and public holidays it runs to a packed house. Even new releases don’t do that well and even the prices of the tickets are the same as what they were 10 years back
May 13, 1995: The Chopra clan released the directorial debut of Yash Chopra’s older son Aditya Chopra’s film Dilwale Dulhaniya Lay Jayenge (DDLJ). Little must he have known at the time that this ever-green love story would break all records — old and new — and create history by being the longest running Hindi film ever. This year, the film completes an unbroken run of 500 weeks’ non-stop showing, making it a classic. The film is still running in the Bombay cinema called Maratha Mandir.
So who would want to watch the same film over and over again? What is mindboggling is the fact the film is still shown to a 60 to 70 per cent packed cinema house every day. On weekends and public holidays it runs to a packed house. Even new releases don’t do that well and even the prices of the tickets are the same as what they were 10 years back, i.e. Rs16 for the stall, Rs18 for upper stall and the Rs20 for the balcony.
Apart from the price, another factor behind this constant occupancy is the area where Maratha Mandir is situated. Since Mumbai Central Station is where most of the trains run to and fro and with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus depot nearby, the location of the theatre does help. The manager of the cinema, Pravin V. Rane says: “After it completed 400 weeks, we thought the film will not run further. Now I think it will complete 600 weeks. Even now, the film’s classic moments, though firmly a part of the audience’s consciousness, evoke hysteria.”
The crowd in the theatre is perfectly aware when Shahrukh Khan is going to make his rugby-playing entry, but there is still feverish applause as he does. Ditto for Kajol’s blissful dancing in the rain to Lata Mangeshkar singing Mere khwabon mein jo aaye when the theatre erupts with ecstatic whistles. Everyone knows the dialogues by heart. Bits like “Bade bade deshoon mein chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain” are met with ecstatic calls of recognition. Apparently Maratha Mandir has invited the Guinness Book of Records’ officials to check the theatre’s credentials of housing the longest running film ever.
In an interview, an editor of a trade magazine, Vinod Mirani, says: “The film has appealed to all classes of audiences because it is a truly entertaining film. In our dictionary we call it a ‘library’ film. One can keep Sholay, Satte Pe Satta and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in this library. Any person sitting with his family can see these films at any time. The only other film that created history was Sholay after it ran successfully for five years, but this film has broken all records and has completed 10 years.”
While cinegoers have seen this film countless times, Shahrukh Khan who broke his action hero image with this film claims to have seen it only thrice. This film has also won 10 Filmfare Awards — the maximum to be won by any film. Two of Raj’s (Shahrukh Khan) friends in the film are Karan Johar, the director of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and Arjun Sablok who later went on to direct Na Tum Jano Na Ham starring Hrithik Roshan, Esha Deol and Saif Ali Khan. Interesting to note is that Aditya Chopra wanted to cast Tom Cruise as the leading man initially because he wanted it to be a love story between an American boy and an Indian girl. The title Dilwale Dulhaniya Lay Jayenge was taken from a hit song of the 1974 film, Chor Machaye Shor. The credit for the film’s title has been given to Kiron Kher, Anupam Kher’s wife.
Unlike eloping, which was the flavour of most candyfloss Indian films, DDLJ went a little ahead with the protagonist wanting to woo the bride via persuasion and not purloining. Shahrukh Khan gives a fabulous performance, redefining the lover for the 1990s with great panache. He’s cool and flippant, but sincere enough to appeal to the junta. The performance itself is, like the best in the business, played well enough to come across as effortless, as non-acting. He also makes dancing look ridiculously easy.
Casting a romance well is vital, and being Yash Chopra’s son helps get a dream pick among the Bollywood market. Aditya wisely picked Kajol to play the female lead, the real-as-life actress bringing warmth and credulity to the initially prudish and reluctant Simran. Not to mention the on-screen chemistry that has become the stuff of legend. There are times when Simran seems unreasonable, but her character is undeniably real — and her familial background couldn’t be more different from Raj’s affable daddy (Anupam Kher).
The magic is in the balance. The film works because it treads the fine line between commercial and interesting cinema with an awful lot of flair. And it staunchly refuses to age. Multiple viewings bring out nuances in scenes, gestures, dialogue — things that might have been missed the first half-dozen times while watching it.
Dilwale Dulhaniya Lay Jayenge not only broke all records but also paired Shahrukh Khan and Kajol after Baazigar, making them the best on screen couple ever.
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