Remembering Yash Chopra On His 86th Birth Anniversary - The Man Beyond Love Stories & Swiss Alps

With Love From KJo

Karan Johar in an interview with Outlook magazine recollected, "My introduction to the Yash Chopra school was his film Kabhi Kabhie. I was obsessed with it, went crazy when I saw it the first time. I had formed this mental picture in which the maker of the film was this dynamic superstar, someone larger than life. Then one night Yash uncle and his wife, Pam aunty, came home for dinner. It was a weeknight and I had been tucked into bed early for school the next day. I remember I had told the servant to wake me up when he arrived. I saw him through the door that I had deliberately kept ajar. And my immediate reaction was "but he looks like my father".

Yash Chopra & His Penchant For Swiss Alps

Explaining the filmmaker's affinity for snow-capped romances in Switzerland, his wife Pamela Chopra once revealed, "Switzerland happened because we could no longer go to Kashmir. That was the only reason. Plus, the infrastructure in Switzerland is so simple that anybody can go and shoot there; you hardly need any permission.

In India, if you have to shoot in a train, you have to start the paperwork six months ahead with various organisations. But there, the person who is present at the station is in charge and he has the authority to tell you whether you can shoot or not.

Unlike Kashmir, all the picturesque places in Switzerland were easily accessible by road. When a film unit moves, it moves with a generator and so much equipment, so you need that convenience."

He Pulled Off One Of The Most Controversial Casting Coup With Silsila

In a BBC interview, Yash Chopra admitted, "I was always on tenterhooks and scared (during Silsila) because it was real life coming into reel life." Silsila was supposed to star Parveen Babi and Smita Patil opposite Amitabh Bachchan.

"It was Amitji who asked me if I was happy... content with the casting (Smita, Parveen and Amitabh) and do I feel it is the ideal casting. I told him I wanted to cast him, Jayaji and Rekha. He took a long pause and told me that he was fine with the decision but asked me to convince the two actresses," the director had once opened up in an interview.

Later, the filmmaker met Jaya Bachchan and Rekha and both of them agreed to do the film. "I had told both (Jaya and Rekha) of them that koi gadbadi na ho (hope there will be no disturbance on the sets)," chuckled Chopra, who seemed to be referring to the real-life tension between the leading ladies, courtesy their love for Big B.

'He Was Romantic In His Movies, But In Real Life, He Was A Very Practical Man'

"He was romantic in his movies, but in real life, he was a very practical man. There was a child inside him, like if he was hungry he had to eat at that very moment.
If he was sleepy, he would just leave everything and go to sleep. He was a completely different person at home and at work. At work, he was very efficient, and in control of things. At home, he didn't bother. He allowed me to manage the house the way I wanted to," his wife revealed in an interview.

Meanwhile, Here Are Some Rare Pics Of Yash Chopra

Here's a picture from Yash Chopra's wedding day where Rajesh Khanna is all smiles.

A Film Which Never Saw The Daylight

Yash Chopra and Sridevi on the sets of Tera Andaz which was shelved.