‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’: the movie released in 1995 that’s still playing in cinemas
These days, a movie will be lucky if it plays exclusively on the big screen for more than a few weeks before heading to digital, on-demand, or streaming. This means runs like the one Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is still enjoying are going to become even rarer.
One major reason ticket sales and cinema attendance are dwindling across the board is that audiences are being increasingly conditioned to think of the big screen experience as less important. If a high-profile or buzzy title doesn’t mark itself out as a must-see on opening weekend, then the chances are high that someone will be able to see it from the comfort of their own home sooner rather than later.
While there are plenty of blockbusters like Barbie and Oppenheimer that bucked that trend and did monstrous business, not every feature is so lucky. Shortened windows mean that even expensive productions like Ryan Gosling’s The Fall Guy was shown exclusively in theatres for a whopping 18 days, and in this current era it’s unusual for anything to spend more than six weeks with theatrical exclusivity.
However, people really love Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, so much so that the musical romance has carried on its engagement to this day despite premiering in October 1995. Written and directed by Aditya Chopra, it’s become less of a movie and more of a cultural touchstone, and it stands to reason it never plays to an empty house when there was uproar over potentially ending its long-running tenure.
In 2015, Mumbai’s historic Maratha Mandir theatre announced plans to remove the beloved favourite from its line-up, and there was an immediate outcry. Confirming to CNN that it had “received hundreds upon hundreds of calls” when the news broke, the cinema quickly saw the error of its ways and decided against eliminating it from the viewing schedule.
Fast forward a decade and it’s still going strong, drumming up repeat business even as its 30th anniversary approaches. It’s far from being a gimmick, either, with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge appealing not only to those who recall its heyday, but new generations of cinemagoers who weren’t even born when it was first making waves.
Headlined by local superstars Shah Rukh Kahn and Kajol, the high-flying pair play Raj Simran, who fall for each other while holidaying in Europe with their friends. He tries to convince her family that he’s the man their daughter should marry, but her old man has already promised her hand to the son of his friend. No prizes for guessing how it turns out in the end, but whether it’s being watched for the first or hundredth time, ticket-buying patrons can’t seem to get enough.
