Beyond Romance

This is just one of the instances when Chopra — popularly termed the “King of Romance” — established himself to be the maker of progressive cinema in Bollywood. “He never bothered about trends. Every time he followed trend,he failed. Cases in point are Vijay and Faasle. These were made keeping the popular trend of family drama in mind,” says Rauf Ahmed,Bollywood historian and a close friend of Chopra.

Before he became assistant director to his brother BR Chopra,Yash Chopra assisted actor-director IS Johar for a brief while. His early work was heavily influenced by his brother’s social dramas. Yash Chopra,however,combined social commentary with human emotions. In his debut venture Dhool Ka Phool (1959),he narrated the story of an unwed mother and a Hindu child being raised by a Muslim man. In his second film Dharamputra (1961),he studied the role of Hindu fundamentalists in Partition,which was a sensitive topic then. When Chopra showed Shashi Kapoor as a staunch believer of Hinduism and a Muslim-hater,he was termed “radical”. But Chopra went ahead with what he thought was good cinema. Mala Sinha,who was the leading lady in both these films,says,“Rajendra Kumar asked Yashji to alter his role in Dhool Ka Phool,so that he would come across as a nice person. Yashji refused to budge.”

At the heart of Yash Chopra’s story-telling was his desire to explore the human psyche. With every film he tried to bring something new to the table and introducing concepts which most filmmakers were afraid to delve into. With Waqt (1965) he was credited of making the first multi-starrer,with Ittefaq (1969),he gave us a songless thriller,and with Deewaar he showed Amitabh Bachchan and Parveen Babi in a bold live-in relationship,a concept unheard of in

India of the ’70s. In his first production Doosra Aadmi (1977),he had Raakhee play the role of a cougar. “Yashji always listened and thought through ideas given by other people. He was willing to reconsider his opinions if he was convinced,” says Rachel Dwyer,Chopra’s biographer.

Chopra’s progressive thinking meant that his women characters were well etched out. From Sinha in Dhool Ka Phool to Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji in Veer Zaara,women character in his movies enjoyed author-backed roles. Actor Juhi Chawla,who worked with the banner thrice — Chandni,Aaina and Darr — says,“He believed in the inner attitude of the woman and explored it through his movies.”

More often than not,Chopra was right in understanding the pulse of the audience,barring a few movies which failed at the box office. Ahmed says,“Yashji was quick in understanding his failures too. I remember him telling me after Silsila,‘After a vibrant romance between Amitabh and Rekha I should have let them unite at the end,because the audience expected that.’ He was right because by the ’80s the audience had evolved.”

In order to keep up with the times,he made sure that he worked with the youth. “He respected tradition but was always engaged with the new,” says Dwyer. According to Ahmed,the cinema going audience changes every ten years. “That’s the reason most filmmakers’ best period lasts eight to 10 years. The reason Yashji and his cinema survived for 53 years is because he constantly worked with youngsters.”