Bollywood film in 500 week record

By Zubair Ahmed
BBC News, Mumbai

An enduring romance featuring Bollywood stars Shahrukh and Kajol

A Bollywood romantic film made 10 years ago has made history by becoming the only Indian film to run for 500 weeks at a stretch.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (The Braveheart Will Take the Bride) is being shown at a cinema in India's entertainment capital, Mumbai (Bombay).

Its producer, Yash Chopra, says the secret of the film's success is that it touches the heart of every Indian.

The film opened its 500th week of screening to a full house.

Many at the Maratha Mandir cinema felt that in a country where more than 900 films are produced every year and many of them run for not more than a week, a continuous showing for 500 weeks was a feat which has no parallel.

Yash Chopra, believes this feat deserves a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Enduring romance

The film was first released at the Maratha Mandir in October 1995 and since then it has been shown there every day.

Every Indian can relate to and identify with the characters in the film Yash Chopra, producer

It portrays the enduring romance between two young people, with the lead roles played by Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.

Many at Friday's screening said they had seen the film over and over again and were still not tired of it.

A devout Shah Rukh Khan fan said he was going to see the film for the 52nd time.

A little boy accompanied by his dad was born in the same year of the film's release and had seen it twice before Friday's show.

Many said they had been seeing it for the past 10 years and would keep coming back for another 10 if it was still being shown at the theatre.

'Straight from the heart'

Mr Chopra said the film, a maiden directorial venture for his son Aditya, was made from the heart.

The film has been running to packed houses since 1995

"The story is simple but every Indian can relate to and identify with the characters in the film," he said.

The owner of the Maratha Mandir, Manoj Desai, said the film will continue for as long as the audiences wanted.

He is planning a big bash on 20 September, when the film will have been showing for 10 years.

The previous longest-running Bollywood movie was a 1975 action drama, Sholay ( Flames), which ran for more than five years in a Mumbai cinema.