THEY AND US: Kajol and Shah Rukh in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

Aao, aao? aao, aao? Amrish Puri is no more but Baldev Singh?s heartfelt pigeon-call in the very first frame of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) is just one of the countless reasons that the 42 Calcutta shows in its historic 500th week were filled with friends, romantics and countrymen wishing to fall in love? again.

DDLJ spearheads that rare bunch of films, which like wine and meat, ferments and tastes better with every watch. Sholay, Golmaal, Andaaz Apna Apna, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron are part of that elite list whose satellite audiences return and repeat with every beam.

What had the crowds ? average 60 per cent occupancy at the three multiplexes last week ? gone to watch after almost 10 years since the Aditya Chopra film hit the theatres? What made the families buy bulk tickets (at a special discounted rate) and catch a film, the dialogues of which they know backwards?

Moments. Moments that reflect memories. Moments that revisit a generation. Moments that mark a return to innocence. Moments that have inspired many more on Indian celluloid.

Kajol?s Simran writes diaries about an ?andekha, anjana? man who keeps appearing on her dreamscape. This unseen, unknown man will later creep into Madhuri?s diary in Dil To Pagal Hai and Esha?s thoughts in Na Tum Jaano Na Hum.

And DDLJ did introduce Shah Rukh Khan as that quintessential hero of the Indian silver screen, with that dimpled smile and twinkling eyes behind stylishly lowered Ray Ban shades, loose Harley Davidson jacket on his back. He only went on to copy himself and grow with the job in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil To Pagal Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Veer-Zaara...

From the grand entry on the rugby turf ? still received with hoots, whistles and that one uncanny feminine shriek ? to the final dangle from the super slo-mo train, Shah Rukh looms large in every frame.

They couldn?t be his ?senoritas? but that didn?t stop the ladies from shouting out loud and the married ones from muttering below their breath: ?Bade bade deshon mein aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hain.?

They loved Raj more when he refused to do an Aamir Khan from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and elope with Simran, despite repeated requests from her and her mother, and the no-holds-barred support from a dad who keeps raising a toast to his academic failures and romantic triumphs.

And then there was Kajol ? Bauji?s obliging beti, Ma?s dreamer daughter, Chhutki?s authoritative didi and, of course, Raj?s endearing senorita.

The nation fell in love with Raj through her ever-expressive eyes, feared Baldev Singh through her demure demeanour and ran with the dulhania for those never-ending few yards on the Apta station (that was the name all right) to jump on to the train and into the arms of her dilwale.

DDLJ redefined Bollywood?s most-beaten track ? love. A beautifully-etched friendship that blossomed into romance, a feeling that filled up the senses, gently.

No wonder, hearts still leap to Raj?s restrained reply in the negative to Simran?s innocuous question: ?Tum mere shaadi mein aaoge??, followed by the song of admittance ? Ho gaya hai tujhko to pyaar sajna...

But DDLJ could have remained just a shadow of what it turned out to be, had Jatin-Lalit not taken up the musical baton from Chopra?s trademark Shiv-Hari duo.

500 not out: DDLJ still rules at the theatres

From the opening piano bars of Ruk ja oh dil deewane to the euphoric orchestrative prelude of Tujhe dekha to yeh jaana sanam to the choral harmonies of Ghar aaja pardesi ? they still have hearts skipping beats and eyes welling up, here and there, now and then.

When Aditya Chopra discarded his murder-thriller and postponed his multistarrer romance (which became Mohabbatein later), he never could have imagined that his directorial debut would not only be a deja vu for couples aplenty but also give birth to dreams galore.

School libraries, college canteens, office boardrooms... there were dreams being conceived everywhere. Dreams of finding her own Raj. Dreams of discovering his own Simran.

So, nine-and-a-half years and 500 weeks later, there were the dream duos sitting arm-in-arm, looking at each other and occasionally sneaking a peek at the big screen to catch a Shah Rukh smile or a Kajol tear.

Blame them not for not watching the film attentively, because DDLJ is an experience beyond the confines of a viewing gallery. It is a journey into the wonderland called love, which for Raj and Simran was a beautiful mustard field.