We visit Mumbai’s iconic Maratha Mandir as DDLJ turns 30

October, 1995.

I was 18, starting retired arsenic a movie writer, erstwhile I archetypal watched and reviewed Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge — oregon DDLJ, arsenic radical inactive telephone it 30 years later.

As a procreation oregon 2 grew up with 1 of the astir seminal films of Shah Rukh Khan’s filmography, our thoughts connected the movie excessively person evolved and changed with the times. So, a travel to Maratha Mandir, wherever DDLJ continues to play each time for the past 30 years (barring the pandemic shutdown) astatine its sole 11.30 americium show, was thing abbreviated of clip travel.

For ₹50, you get a balcony spot — and yes, astir 200 of those were occupied that day. It is simply a communal signifier to fto the assemblage capable the balcony truthful the auditorium looks full.

Maratha Mandir itself feels frozen successful clip — a relic from 1958 adjacent Mumbai Central renovated precocious with caller lighting, wherever my movie professional person observed that immoderate patrons driblet by little for the nostalgia and much for the air-conditioning. The place, with its inexpensive tickets doubles up arsenic a benignant of informal waiting country — radical chatting connected phones, occasionally glancing up astatine the surface annoying regular fans who person made trips crossed the metropolis oregon state for their bucket list.

Love missive to patriarchy

“This is London… Nobody knows maine but pigeons,” the movie begins with the voiceover of the patriarch (Amrish Puri), who misses his Punjab and longs to alert backmost home. “Roti paanv ki zanjeer prohibition gayi hai” (Bread has shackled my feet), helium laments, feeding the pigeons. Those were simpler times earlier the anti-pigeon propaganda. Today, Mumbai reminds citizens not to provender the harbingers of illness and producers of toxic droppings. We person othered the pigeons. The astir afloat balcony connected the time aft Deepavali erupted into applause erstwhile the opening credits introduced Shah Rukh Khan arsenic Raj and Kajol arsenic Simran — arsenic if the makers knew however these characters would go household names.

While debut manager Aditya Chopra’s procreation saw it arsenic a desi Before Sunrise (1995), featuring Raj and Simran falling successful emotion connected a Eurail route, begetter Yash Chopra’s procreation saw it arsenic a communicative of 2 NRI fathers played by accepted Amrish Puri and wide Anupam Kher. One believes the girl should get utilized to her tears and prime herself up, oregon successful the words of the parent played by Farida Jalal, “had nary close to dream.” And the different wants his lad to spell unrecorded his younker arsenic good if helium feels helium has missed retired connected it — a younker that flew by arsenic helium tried to marque a living. This could precise good beryllium each Indian genitor successful the 1990s — with antithetic rules for sons and daughters — but present was a movie that was going to commencement an important speech and animate generations of filmmakers to subvert it.

Karan Johar, who plays the hero’s champion person successful DDLJ, went connected to nutrient the Dulhaniya franchise with Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, wherever the miss called the shots and the lad had to make a spine. Luv Ranjan went 1 measurement further by showing the disfigured broadside of what truly happens successful an arranged matrimony setup, adjacent if the lad is IIT/IIM educated. Themes of marital rape successful Akaash Vani disturbed audiences arsenic galore walked retired of halls halfway. More recently, Aryan Khan successful The Bads of Bollywood roasts the hypocrisy of the patriarch successful his emotion missive to his father. The existent trial of a movie is to spot erstwhile the assemblage claps hardest 30 years later. Of course, they inactive clap for Shah Rukh Khan successful his shorts, moving with that oval rugby shot successful the rain, oregon erstwhile Kajol gets drunk and starts dancing to ‘Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main’ — but the biggest cheers successful the archetypal fractional came for Shah Rukh bursting into ‘Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane’ — storytelling via choreography by Farah Khan — the chemistry that aboriginal created Main Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om and Happy New Year. The different songs were by Saroj Khan. So yeah, the times were changing.

The astir unexpected applause was towards the extremity of ‘Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko’ erstwhile Simran waves astatine an imaginary Raj, and again when, extracurricular House No. 13, Raj finds retired Simran and household person near London — but past helium finds the Swiss cowbell, bringing successful the whistles astatine intermission. The quality of the movie is however good it contrasts and balances the 2 sides of Indians — Indians connected their bohemian European vacation and Indians astatine weddings — the modern and the traditional. And the disfigured broadside of DDLJ — the past 15 minutes — inactive feels arsenic cringe arsenic it did 30 years ago. Simran is not the father’s ‘amanat’ to springiness away, and doing the basal decent happening a begetter ought to do, considering a daughter’s happiness, should not beryllium the generous, applause-worthy motion it’s treated as. Yet “Ja Simran… Jee Le Apni Zindagi” inactive gets the assemblage cheering.

Maybe we deliberation truthful small of accepted minds that we privation to applaud acts of basal decency. Yes, times person changed, romance has changed — but arsenic the wide begetter tells his son: “Mohabbat ka naam aaj bhi mohabbat hai.” Never caput situationships, emotion is inactive called love, indeed.