|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yash Chopra believed that cinema is not only a medium for entertainment but it should also carry a message in an entertaining format. His Dhool Ka Phool and Dharamputra made a strong plea for communal harmony. Aadmi aur Insaan deplored the all-pervasive corruption. Ittefaq ridiculed infidelity. Deewar debunked the unscrupulous cult of Mammon. Trishul rued misguided priorities where matters of heart were sidelined for materialistic considerations. Kala Pathar highlighted the plight of coal mine workers and their exploitation. Mashaal told the story of honest journalist, who took up cudgels against injustice. Though Yash Chopra never made feminist statements, yet women in his films were never merely showpieces. Mala Sinha in Dhool Ka Phool, Rakhee in Daag, Jaya Bachchan in Silsila, Preity Zinta in Veer- Zaara, Sridevi in Lamhe, etc. were all iconoclasts willing to stand up against the established mores. In Deewar, Nirupa Roy not only condemned her son but even walks out on him. Trishul, too, saw the mother in a strong role. In Chandni, Chopra called for a new awakening to ensure the dignity of a woman.
Yash Chopra set the trend for socially relevant films. His films reflected his belief that marriages are made in heaven and any violation of this eternal bond is a transgression of the divine will. In Silsila, he resolved the conflict between the rights of a wife and the claims of the woman as a beloved. In Darr, Chopra did not allow the sanctity of marriage to be imperilled by an eccentric lover. Chopra may have had an inclination for shooting in glossy locales in Switzerland, yet, his films were about life and not lifestyles. He may have shot his films in the glossy locales of Switzerland but his films always exuded an Indianness. In Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayengey, Shah Rukh Khan did not elope with Kajol. Dil to Pagal Hai showed how a boy and a girl can be the best of friends. His films were beautiful experiences of love, relationships and romance. In Veer-Zaara, Shah Rukh Khan spends twenty two years in Pakistani jail for the sake of his love. In Mohabbatein, the heroine dies but she lives in the heart of her beloved. Chopra’s films made him one of the last romantics in popular cinema of Indian cinema. Yash Raj Chopra kept pace with the fast changing trends and tastes. Even his last directorial venture — Jab Tak Hai Jaan — is brimming with innovative ideas. He did not allow commercial considerations to overtake his creative instincts. He had astounding taste for photography, dialogues, clothes, poetry, music, scripts, song, acting, screenplay and locations.
Yash Chopra reinvented himself with every decade, defining trends for each new generation of filmmakers. Though Yash Chopra is often referred to as the king of romance but a look at his oeuvre reveals that he experimented with a variety of genres.
|
|||
|
|
|||
WITH Punjab and Punjabiyat being the underlying theme, Yash Chopra loved making romantic films. According to Chopra, filmmaking is a business of ideas and nothing can survive with hype alone. He had his fingers firmly on the pulse of the audience. Chopra began by directing films based on socially significant themes like Dhool Ka Phool, Waqt and Ittefaq with brother Baldev Raj Chopra before branching out. Yash Chopra launched his own production with blockbuster Daag, which was criticised for tacitly endorsing bigamy but it catapulted Chopra to the pinnacle of glory.
The image of the angry young man, which was created in Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer, acquired flesh and blood in Chopra’s Deewar. Till date, the character of Vijay, played by Amitabh Bachchan, remains one of the most consummate studies of anger and rebellion in popular cinema.
