Fans of "Raj" and "Simran" are heartbroken as Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" ends its 1009-week-long run at Maratha Mandir, Mumbai, on Thursday.
"After playing for 1009 uninterrupted weeks, the unprecedented performance of #DDLJ omes to an end at Maratha Mandir, Mumbai today," film trade analyst Taran Adarsh confirmed on Twitter.
The news comes as a surprise because when it had touched the 1,000-week mark on 12 December, last year, theatre's executive director Manoj Desai had said he would let the iconic movie run for another 1,000 weeks.
"We decided that we will run DDLJ for 1000 weeks more. We will still run the movie at the rates of Rs 15, 17, 20. Nobody shows any movie at these rates any more," he told DNA adding, "I am deeply connected with DDLJ. It's like our child who was born in 1995, the child will soon be 20, can somebody disown their child?."
"DDLJ" has touched several hearts over the years with its Raj-Simran love story. Screened at 11.30 am every day, the film had loyal viewers who would flock the theatres on working days as well.
While the love for the heart-warming storyline kept the film alive, there's another reason to "DDLJ" being the longest-running film in the history of Indian cinema. "For the first 500 weeks, we screened the film at Maratha Mandir only to make profits. In fact Yashji awarded me a golden trophy for the successful screening of the film. Afterwhich, both YRF and I have been aiming at running the movie for as many weeks as we can only with the ambition of winning an entry in the Guinness World Records," Desai said, Daily Bhaskar reports.
In other news, social media is abuzz with unhappy posts about the movie being taken off from the iconic theatre. Here are some tweets:
Shah's Sabi: "oooh no mera dream toot gaya waha ddlj dekhne ka... :(... M very sad now:("
Akshar Pathak: "Maratha Mandir finally stopped playing DDLJ. The usher must be feeling like the old man in The Shawshank Redemption."
Soumyadipta Banerjee: "The era ends. #DDLJ has completed its last show at Maratha Mandir today at 9.15 am, @yrf has announced. A world record of 1009 weeks!"
Ani: "seriously? I wanted to go to Mumbai and watch it on the big screen! #DDLJ"
@danshula: "@iamsrk always thot whenever i visit india next i will be able to catch ddlj at maratha mandir :( like seriously this is sad now :( why :("
After playing for 1009 uninterrupted weeks, the unprecedented performance of #DDLJ comes to an end at Maratha Mandir, Mumbai today.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 19, 2015
