The Romantics Season 1 Review: A celebration of Yash Chopra’s legacy that defined romance in Hindi cinema

Review: Women, at least once in your lifetime if you haven’t fantasized yourself dancing on the Alps or in the Mumbai rain in a chiffon sari for your Raj, are you even a Hindi movie fan? Are you even a romantic? Smriti Mundhra’s 4 part documentary series ‘The Romantics’ celebrates Yash Chopra’s legacy and brand of cinema. His vision continues to inspire generations of fans and filmmakers, including his own son, Yash Raj films’ head Aditya Chopra. However, the two had a mind of their own.

The second episode manages a coup. It gets the reclusive and extremely private Adi (as fondly referred to by his friends) to face the camera for the first time ever to tell his story and their banner’s generational shift… from aspirational stories to more realistic. “I was a rich kid unlike my father. His business decisions were shaped by his middle-class upbringing. I believed in no revenue sharing”, says the son without mincing words. Aditya Chopra is articulate and outspoken. This is perhaps the biggest highlight of the series. He finally answers why he prefers to work in private, his vision as a filmmaker and how it differed from that of his illustrious father. “Adi wanted silk saris for Kajol in DDLJ and Yashji preferred chiffon fabric for his leading ladies as it’s lighter and can fly. Adi stuck to silk”, shares Karan Johar, then an AD on the film, who attributes his career as a filmmaker to Adi. The latter convinced the posh South Bombay boy to get into films as opposed to go to Paris for studying design.

Shah Rukh Khan revealing that Adi tricked him into becoming the nation’s loverboy by convincing him to play Raj in DDLJ, makes you giggle. The superstar was reluctant to play a soft boy onscreen and aspired to become an action hero but was told by Adi to ‘not waste those eyes on action’. SRK’s success in Pathaan makes you wonder if Adi finally obliged SRK with his action dream role.

Pacy and anecdotal, the docu gets its insight from several celebrated artistes, rare footage, film experts of past and present, Yashji’s previous interviews and his family and friends’ take on him. Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, the late Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Aamir Khan, daughter-in-law Rani Mukerji, Kajol, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Hrithik Roshan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Salim Khan to name a few, share their experience of working with YC and their understanding of his films and legacy. Ranveer Singh who was launched by YRF and had once told us in one of his initial interviews that he had a godfather in Aditya Chopra, also has some interesting stories to tell. He recounts how he performed a monologue of Deewar(1975) in the US in front of non-Hindi speaking spectators and how they were still bowled over.

The series offers lots of unknown gems and trivia that look beyond the surface. Wife Pamela Chopra’s undisclosed singing talent, her influence on her husband’s films’ music and predominantly Punjabi setting, their successful love marriage without either being interested in the other the first time they met and the director’s inability to handle failure which affected his wife and children, especially the precocious elder son Aditya, who grew up overnight, gives a deeper, layered look at the family dynamics.

Yash Chopra’s humble roots in Jalandhar, his progression from being a salaried employee and director at his elder brother BR Chopra’s production house to stepping away and creating his own YRF banner and identity as a director-producer, you see his journey and its impact on Hindi cinema. How the country’s socio-political milieu shaped his thoughts and films also make for an interesting watch. His switch from making multistarrer family dramas to angry young man stories to dreamy romance in Switzerland that largely defined him as a filmmaker, career highs and lows, vision for future… The docuseries is all encompassing.

The iconic Chandni and Sridevi’s inhibitions to simply wear white, also stays with you. What you do miss desperately is Lata Mangeshkar’s presence in the series. The nightingale of India was integral to Yash Chopra’s cinema and music. Asha Bhosle often complained that Yashji stayed loyal to her elder sister while his elder brother BR Chopra, stayed loyal to her throughout their careers.

The Romantics is an absolute treat to watch if you love Hindi cinema and Yash Chopra, which are pretty much synonymous. There couldn’t have been a better Valentine’s Day watch. Be prepared to have a big smile on your face as you watch this series — YRF, romance, chiffon saris, Shah Rukh Khan, Aditya Chopra (on camera) and evolution of cinema. This feels like a warm hug from childhood. Movies keep you optimistic in an otherwise cynical world, don’t they?