Student film explores the Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge phenomenon

It is a Thursday morning and 175 seats at the 1000seater Maratha Mandir at Mumbai Central are filled up for a matinee show of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge DDLJ A confused rickshawdriver from Bandra loiters by the ticket window He is late by an hour His wife is admitted at the neighbouring Nair Hospital and he is looking for a little ldquotimepassrdquo DDLJ now in its legendary 1037th week seems like a reasonably distracting option It is fans like him that fascinate Natashja Rathore a postgraduate student from the London Film School LFS Since May this year she has been shooting with her sevenmember crew for a featurelength grad film that trails the love path of the filmrsquos protagonists Raj Malhotra and Simran Singh played by Shah Rukh Khan and KajolNatashja Rathorersquos The DDLJ Documentary is a student film shot across two continents PicTushar SatamWith six years of film education the 24yearold was thinking hard over a subject for her final college submission ldquoBut it wasnrsquot until Christmas last year when I was watching Comedy Nights with Kapil that I came across my theme The episode discussed DDLJ running for 1000 weeks at Maratha Mandir I hadnrsquot heard of a film running that long Of the 16 films that may release in London each week few make it for as long as a month DDLJ then is a phenomenonrdquo she saysGrowing up in Singapore Mumbai and London Rathore was fed on a Bollywood diet and had watched DDLJ some 50 times before she decided to make her documentary ldquoBut this is not a soppy fan tribute or a makingof film It asks why DDLJ has touched so many hearts Why is it a success We want to maintain a balanced perspectiverdquoShah Rukh Khan and Kajol in a still from DDLJPresently titled The DDLJ Documentary the film features the starcast and crew of the original film and has travelled to locations in Switzerland where Aditya Chopra shot its opening sequences Expecting a lot of nature and quiet in the Alpine country Rathore says she was overwhelmed to see the milling Indian tourists ldquoSwitzerland is Bollywood and Bollywood is Switzerlandrdquo is what Rathore realised The Jungfrau Express is now lovingly called the Yash Chopra Train there are customised DDLJ tours across the cities and a humongous cutout of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in a typical Bollywood dance move sits atop Mount Titlis Recalling the people who have been interviewed for the documentary Rathore says there was an Indian couple touring Switzerland with an elaborate slideshow featuring them in various RajSimran poses as well as DDLJcurious Americans who wanted to watch it on Netflix when they returned homeCurrently wrapping up shooting in Mumbai Rathore adds that her film about a film is for a Western audience including a sizeable NRI population to which DDLJ spoke volumes ldquoDDLJ was a skillfully made filmrdquo says Rathore and continues after a thoughtful pause ldquofor an Indian audience We donrsquot realise it but it touched on serious issues that concern young urban India whether itrsquos female chastity double standards in marriage or the arranged marriage versus love marriage debate It sugarcoated the lessons in an entertaining packagerdquoRathore and her college crew have received pound4000 from LFS like every other graduating student group to support the production Planned for a running time of 75 minutes The DDLJ Documentary is as ambitious as any grad film can get Most student films are usually shorts submitted for awards and screened at festivals Apart from following this tradition of premiering at festivals Rathorersquos film aims for a commercial release even as it struggles for funding If all goes well Yash Raj Films might just be the distributor ldquoThe profit will go to LSF registered as a charity which plans to announce scholarships for Indian students Formal film training is crucial but very difficult to get I want to make the path easier for aspirantsrdquo says Rathore