By Rachana Sheth, Glamsham Editorial
Yash Chopra's 80th birthday was a memorable one. In a special heart-to-heart conversation with Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, the prolific filmmaker opened the diary of his cinematic journey and give out myriad undisclosed facts.Yash Chopra's family wanted him to be an engineer and had mere Rs 200 in his pocket when he entered Mumbai.
"My family wanted me to become an engineer but I was always keen about filmmaking. My family was not appreciative of films. I come from very conservative background. But since my elder brother B R Chopra was into filmmaking business I got that opportunity. My mother gave me 200 Rs and blessings to follow my dreams. I have got immense support from my elder brother and my mother."
The 1981 film SILSILA was supposed to star Smita Patil and Parveen Babi alongside Amitabh Bachchan instead of Jaya Bachchan and Rekha.
"I had earlier chosen Smita Patil and Parveen Babi for the part that was played by Jaya Bachchan and Rekha respectively. I confirmed them but when I told Amitji about the casting, he asked me if I was sure and happy about it. When I told him I wanted to cast him, Jaya 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. I convinced the two."
"Before starting the film I called Jaya and Rekha separately and requested them 'please koi gadbad mat karna' (for the obvious reasons that the two were sharing cold vibes then)"
"When Parveen and Smita Patil came to know about this fact, Parveen took it in light vein while Smita was little hurt, not because she was out of the film, but the fact that I had asked Shashi Kapoor to pass the bad news to her. As I can't say no to anybody"
Yash Chopra was the first filmmaker to make a multi-starrer film and probably the first lost and found saga, WAQT (1965). Since the story was about three brothers who get separated and ultimately meet up, Yashji had Kapoor brothers - Raj, Shammi and Shashi in mind.
"My brother thought it was a dream cast but when I shared with Bimal Roy and also discussed the casting. Bimal immediately told him that the cast was a misfit. The movie was about separation and here I was casting three real brothers so anyone could recognise them. Ultimately the film was made with Shashi Kapoor, Sunil Dutt and Raj Kumar."
