7 months ago
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Mumbai’s iconic single-screen theatre, Maratha Mandir, has remained the imperishable location of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge for 30 years and it volition proceed to bash truthful arsenic agelong arsenic audiences support coming, says the theatre's enforcement manager Manoj Desai.
Opened successful 1952, the 1,107-seater cinema has screened galore iconic films, including Mughal-E-Azam and Pakeezah. Yet it is the Shah Rukh Khan–Kajol starrer Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge that has cemented its spot successful past with an unprecedented and record-breaking tally since its merchandise connected October 20, 1995.
During a backstage screening 10 days earlier the merchandise of the film, which marked the directorial debut of Yash Chopra’s lad Aditya, Desai said that helium told the precocious filmmaker -- “Yeh lambi contention ka ghoda hai” (this volition bask a agelong run).
“I was hopeless to merchandise the movie. It has everything successful it. Great story, and Amrish Puri, Shah Rukh, and Kajol were cleanable for their respective roles. If the nationalist request sustains, we volition proceed to tally the movie successful the theatre.
"At that time, I didn't cognize that we would tally it successful theatres this long. Our managing director, Mr Arun Nahar had thought that since the summons rates are truthful low, it volition beryllium successful our theatres for a agelong clip and it turned retired to beryllium true,” Desai told PTI successful an interview.
On a emblematic weekday, the theatre draws astir 70 to 100 viewers for the 11:30 americium show, portion the play attendance jumps to 200–300 enthusiastic fans. Tickets are priced astatine Rs 50 for the balcony and Rs 30 for the formal circle.
What makes DDLJ peculiar is its quality to resonate crossed assorted demographics, said Desai.
At Maratha Mandir, which is located conscionable a abbreviated region from some Mumbai Central Railway Station and ST autobus stand, radical travel from antithetic parts of the state to ticker the iconic film.
“We’ve antithetic acceptable of audiences coming to ticker it, and they each bask watching DDLJ. Besides, they tin spend a movie astatine this rate,” helium said.
Desai witnessed the unthinkable attachment and emotion that audiences person for Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge a fewer years agone erstwhile the theatre enactment up a announcement saying that the movie would halt screening aft 1,000 weeks.
Instead of accepting it, galore fans came to the theatre to explicit their disappointment. "There were couples who asked maine to region the board. Ultimately, It’s the nationalist that makes a movie hit,” Desai said.
The movie has been played astatine the theatre each time since its release, but for a little hiatus of 4 months oregon truthful during the pandemic that deed India successful March 2020.
“We utilized to get telephone calls asking america to commencement screening DDLJ erstwhile COVID-19 was over. We each cognize the benignant of films merchandise contiguous but DDLJ is genuinely special,” Desai recalled.
With its old-world charm, comfy seating, and a spacious food-and-beverage area, the theatre offers a unsocial ambiance that keeps patrons returning again and again.
The corridors, lined with photographs and trophies from galore films, service arsenic a reminder of the affluent past and enduring bequest of the cinema hall.
“We bash immoderate we tin to springiness a bully acquisition successful presumption of pricing and the ambience. All kinds of radical travel here, astir of them are couples, oregon those who person had nighttime shifts travel present and immoderate adjacent slumber wrong successful the AC.
"I’ve go friends with those who travel present regularly and we stock things and sometimes nutrient with each other,” a unit subordinate astatine Maratha Mandir, who has been moving for implicit a decade, told PTI.
Among the audience, 1 volition find students, bureau goers and adjacent societal media influencers re-watching Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge at the Maratha Mandir.
For Vijay, a 58-year-old taxi operator who comes to ticker the movie during his luncheon break, the movie resonates connected a profoundly idiosyncratic level.
“My begetter was astir similar Amrish Puri ji, maine and my siblings would fearfulness him a batch arsenic helium was a disciplinarian but helium had a bosom of gold, helium did immoderate helium could for us. Whenever I spot this film, it reminds maine of my father, helium near america a fewer years ago,” the operator told PTI.
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For contented creator and stand-up comedian Pulkit Kochar, watching the movie is simply a surreal experience, with its dialogues and songs etched into his memory.
“I don’t person the number of however galore times I’ve seen DDLJ. This is the archetypal movie I watched aft I was born, I’m precisely 30-year-old. So, it’s surreal to ticker this romance which my parents saw,” Kochar told PTI.
A mates successful their aboriginal 20s told PTI, “This is my astir and lone favourite emotion story. We didn’t cognize thing astir DDLJ oregon Shah Rukh oregon Kajol, but erstwhile we friends came present past twelvemonth aft college, we discovered this gem. We travel present regularly to get immersed successful the emotion and warmth of Raj and Simran.”
A unit astatine Maratha Mandir expressed joyousness of seeing accordant crowd, astatine a clip erstwhile theatres particularly, single-screens are struggling to lure audiences. “Today, films of large stars are not doing good successful theatres. But we’re gladsome we’ve a movie present which continues to gully radical each day. Our theatre is not moving bare connected immoderate day. People conscionable travel to ticker it arsenic they are successful emotion with this film,” the unit subordinate told PTI.
