Yash Chopra: The return of the veteran

Yash Chopra makes his directorial comeback after seven years.

MUMBAI:

Veteran Indian movie mogul Yash Chopra will return to direction after seven years with the hope that old-fashioned romance and modern day stars will lure new young fans to his work.

Chopra said that the hitherto untitled film will star Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma, as well as Katrina Kaif, with music from AR Rahman - the Oscar-winning composer for Slumdog Millionaire’s soundtrack.

The 78-year-old, whose last stint in the director’s chair was with Veer-Zaara in 2004, says that he thought long and hard about returning to the studio floor and admits he has no idea whether it is the right move.

“It’s been seven years since I directed Veer-Zaara and as I begin work on my new film, I hear my inner voice asking me a lot of questions,” said the award-winning filmmaker.

“Can I really speak from my heart and still expect today’s youth to listen to me? The honest answer is, ‘I don’t know’”, he added.

Chopra is hoping that superstar Khan and Sharma will provide a winning formula. They were last seen in the 2008 hit Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, produced by his company, Yash Raj Films company. Kaif is also one of Bollywood’s most bankable leading ladies.

Chopra’s filmmaking career stretches back to the 1950s when he worked as an assistant to his brother, the director BR Chopra. His first film as a director came in 1959 with Dhool Ka Phool. Among his later credits is the hit 1975 film Deewaar, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor.

He founded his company Yash Raj Films in 1970, which subsequently became one of the biggest production houses in Bollywood. It now has interests in film distribution, television, home entertainment sector and music.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, produced by Yashraj Films and directed by Chopra’s media-shy son Aditya, is still considered as one of the most evergreen films Bollywood has ever produced.

In 2004, the Hollywood Reporter put Yash Raj Films in 27th spot in its survey of biggest film distribution houses in the world. But in recent years, the company’s standing has faltered.

In August 2009, the influential Filmfare magazine demoted the studio from third to sixth in its Bollywood power list. According to the magazine, “there was a time when Yash Raj Films sneezed and the entire industry caught a cold. [But] Not anymore.”

Low-quality scripts have largely been blamed for the slump.

“My father and brother (Aditya) are inaccessible,” Chopra’s other son, actor Uday, told the Hindustan Times newspaper in an interview. “So, people write stuff without clarifying. They know that no one will come forward and say, ‘that’s not true’,” he said.

Chopra said that his return to directing was driven by his zeal to direct “a film that is about love and nothing else” which is”classic in its look but contemporary in its language”.

“I’m making this film based on a simple faith - the love that my audiences have given me over the years. They have tolerated my indulgences for the past 50 years,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2011.