Smriti Mundra documents the audience’s love affair with captivating love stories, beautiful landscapes, beautiful chiffon saree-clad leading ladies, and the greatest storyteller to showcase these wondrous tales of love, Yash Chopra.
Synopsis
Yash Chopra the man who made immortalized Bollywood romances, swizz alps, and timeless music. The name is enormous, and the legend of the name still lives on. Smriti Mundra, famously known for her much-talked-about documentary “Indian Matchmaking”, this time treads in the world of Bollywood. Though her documentary pays an ode to legendary Yash Chopra, still the highlight of the documentary involuntarily turns out to be the debut of his camera-shy son Aditya Chopra on screen as, for the first time, we see him talk in front of the camera.
Review
The docu-series documents Yash Chopra’s journey in Bollywood, from learning the trade tricks from his elder brother, B.R Chopra, to giving the reins to his son Aditya Chopra. The Romantics take us through the YRF filmography by talking to the finest and brightest stars ever gathered in a documentary. From Shehanshah of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan to Hrithik Roshan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji to Khans, as well as newer stars like Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Ayushmaan Khurana, and Bhumi Pednekar. There’s a special interview with the late Rishi Kapoor, whose mischievous, raw commentary is among the most unforgettable part of the series.
The four-part series begins with Yash Chopra’s childhood. Chopra wrote and directed socially engaging films like Dharmputra (1961) and Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969) under the banner of his brother BR Chopra, like many other artists, authors, and filmmakers that wanted to change the old world and shape the future with new and revolutionary outlook. This era gave birth to the YRF’s Lanky and Angry Young Man as he made Deewar under his banner (1975).
The most interesting part is the contribution of Pamela Chopra, his wife, to making Yash Chopra the king of romance, as he is fondly known. Maybe it was the love or insight that Pamela bought into Yash Chopra’s life that he started exploring all aspects of love there is. From infidelity in Silsila to maddening obsession in Darr and exploring if age really matters in love in Lamhe.
The docu-series also addresses the elephant in the room, nepotism, and Uday Chopra and Aditya Chopra’s views on the topic are predictable. However, one considerable drawback of the series is that the documentary needs to talk or shed light upon a massive aspect of YRF movies that makes them their stature: music. We would have loved to know how immortal songs that live on from these movies were made and curated.
Verdict
Even though, at times, the documentary may seem like a PR move by YRF (considering the series of flops they witnessed in recent times). But after all is said and done, the role of YRF and Yash Chopra can never be negated in immortalizing romance in Bollywood movies. Films may come and go, but Yash Chopra’s musicals will always define the magic of love.