This Bollywood film is so loved, a Mumbai theatre has been screening it daily for 27 years

A crowd stands stand patiently and faithfully at the ticket window, the line spilling around the corner on a Tuesday morning as they wait to hand over a fistful of rupees to get into Mumbai's once-grand Maratha Mandir theatre.

They're not aching to see the latest Bollywood blockbuster.

They're here for a film that premiered 27 years ago, but has such an enduring appeal — along with its leading man, Bollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan — that it's played at this 1950s-era cinema nearly every day since the movie came out, aside from a brief pandemic-induced pause that shut down all theatres in India.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, which translates to "The Big-hearted Will Take The Bride," is a classic love story about a boy who meets a girl, falls in love, and then tries to win over her disapproving father. 

It came out in 1995, a few years before 24-year-old Navnath Ghosle was born, and yet he's seen it some 70 times at the Mumbai theatre.

"I really love the movie, especially the songs," he told CBC News in Hindi. "They are amazing."

The songs are ringing out even louder this February, as the film's intense and abiding popularity has prompted its production company to re-release it in dozens of cinemas across the country — a gimmick timed around Valentines Day. 

At last count, with two days left in its one-week run, the Bollywood classic had earned six million rupees, or more than $97,000.

It's pure economics that propels Maratha Mandir's owners to keep showing the ever-popular 27-year-old film every day at 11:30 a.m., given the crowds it still attracts. But it's also a recognition that the movie has a lasting charm that's hard to fathom for many outside India.

"DDLJ has its own magic which we can't describe in words," said Preeti Gupta, 25, who was waiting to surprise her friend on her birthday with a trip to see one of their favourite films.

The movie was groundbreaking for its time, she said, and still resonates deeply today because it depicts a young Indian woman choosing her own path and convincing her conservative father to allow her to marry for love, forgoing an arranged marriage.

"One of the main reasons [for its popularity] is its story," Gupta said.

"And Shah Rukh Khan," she added with a giggle. "Shah Rukh Khan rules the heart of all Indian youth."

The male megastar of the film is one of the first things nearly everyone at the Mumbai theatre brought up when asked why they love DDLJ.