Not another retread…

Rumour has it that yash chopra, one of india’s veteran directors — best known for his chiffon and dreams romances — may be recreating one of his 70s hits. why can’t creative minds just think out of the box for a change?

Welcome back, you’re inclined to say rightaway. At the age of 79, Yash Chopra is scheduled to direct his 22^nd film in a career spanning over half a century. It features the favourite actor from the Yashraj Production stable — Shah Rukh Khan — flanked by Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. And for the first time, the director who is believed to have a sharp music sense, will work with AR Rahman.

So far, so wonderful. Now news has leaked that the still-to-be-titled project is a retread of Chopra’s 1973 whopper hit which toplined the then superstar Rajesh Khanna with Sharmila Tagore and Raakhee Gulzar. That’s a pity really because Daag — albeit with excellent music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal — was itself snitched from Thomas Hardy’s 19^th century novel The Mayor of Casterbridge. The core material is dated and chauvinistic, what with the ‘hero’ cheating on two women and, at the end, being forgiven and embraced by both. To keep up with the times, supposedly the director’s son Aditya will ensure that the rewritten script will be in sync with the times and avoid the regressive wrap-up of Daag.

Quite paradoxically, 
the considerable oeuvre 
of Yash Chopra — categorised as the eternal romantic among Indian filmmakers — had kicked off with black-and-white films 
dealing with social issues. Under the stewardship of his elder brother, producer BR Chopra, at the age of 27, he had crafted the undervalued Dhool ka Phool (1959) and Dharmputra (1961), both revolving around the theme of secularism. Indeed, the classic song of religious harmony — Tu Hindu banega na Musalman — is still remembered from his debut feature. The next feature Dharmputra — showcasing Shashi Kapoor in one of his earliest roles — tackled the interaction between two families from differing faiths during the British Raj. Challenged by a convoluted script, the well-intentioned effort was thumbed down commercially.

Consequently, Yash Chopra turned romantic with a vengeance. The stories he narrated turned jelly soft. The accent was completely on glamour and gloss, even if the subject demanded a tougher, gritty treatment. Example: Kaala Patthar (1979) set in the coalmines, which was far too fantastic for comfort. It’s when he creates a world of chiffons, flying dupattas, red roses, silverware on mahogany dining tables, champagne and romps through mustard fields that he is in his element.

Ask Chopra why he strayed away from issue-centric stories to la-la-land, and he disagrees, “That is unfair. I do take care to make my films look smart and sophisticated in a way that they appeal to viewers from the urban as well as remote rural areas. But yes, I was disturbed by the flop of Dharmputra. Perhaps it was ahead of its times. Today, it is among the top-sellers of my films on DVD.”

Themes that are unorthodox or overtly concerned with a social issue are far too risky, he believes. Chopra hasn’t ever quite recovered from the rejection of both Silsila (1981) and Lamhe (1991) at the cash counters. According to him, adultery was a taboo topic back in the straitjacketed 1980s-90s while a suggestion of incestuous attraction in Lamhe embarrassed the audience. “Today, of course, everywhere I go I’m told that these films were wonderful. Rekha’s dialogue in Silsila is frequently quoted… and if I may say so, imitated. Similarly, the costumes of Rekha and then Sridevi impacted fashion tastes.”

There is no taking away from Yash Chopra’s estimable achievements for sure; it fetched him the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award over a decade ago. Chopra Sr and his son are prolific film producers, at the helm of one of the best-equipped studios in the country. Yet a smidgen of originality could surely be expected. Yash and Aditya Chopra could break new ground, quite easily support small-budget meaningful cinema, but no, they mass manufacture films which are more often than not derivative. For instance, Yashraj’s Dhoom series takes off from The Fast and The Furious and other Hollywood action flicks, or Mohabattein (2000), which can be sourced to Dead Poets’ Society, or Hum Tum (2004), which takes off from Barbra Streisand’s Yentl etc.

Here’s hoping the news about Daag being done all over is just a rumour. The Yashraj publicity squad, ever eager to fire rebuttals, has so far remained silent on the allegation. So, Shah Rukh Khan will step into the shoes of Rajesh Khanna — and you’re not sure if that’s a good thing.

(The writer has been reviewing Bollywood for decades, has scripted three films and directed three 
others. Currently, he is working on a documentary and just finished a book of short stories.)