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Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Aditya Chopra: The businessman Yash Chopra never was
When you Google 'define a good businessman,' the AI assistant doesn't hesitate: 'A good businessman is someone who is skilled and successful in business, demonstrating strong leadership, decision-making, financial acumen, and an understanding of market dynamics.' If anyone in the Hindi film industry fits that definition with surgical precision, it is Aditya Chopra — the heir to a cinematic dynasty, who didn't just inherit the throne but rebuilt the entire kingdom. Born with a silver spoon, Aditya didn't just hold on to it, he forged it into gold. As actor Anil Kapoor aptly put in Netflix documentary, The Romantics, 'Aditya is one of those few sons who, I think, has surpassed his father's legacy.' And that legacy? It belonged to the towering figure of Yash Chopra, a romantic visionary whose films defined Bollywood's golden era. However, his business instincts often lagged behind his artistic flair. Yash Chopra began his career under the shadow of his elder brother B.R. Chopra. After directing five films as a salaried employee, Yash finally stepped out on his own and founded Yash Raj Productions in 1970. Soon, he delivered a smashing hit with Daag (1973). This was followed by a series of classics — Deewar (1975), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Trishul (1978), Kaala Patthar (1979). But success, like fashion, is seasonal. In 1981, he released his dream project Silsila. It flopped. And so did every film he made through the 80s. The country was changing. India was talking about caste-based reservations, the Ayodhya dispute, civil rights, and social justice. Yash Chopra was still filming tulips in Kashmir. The audience had moved on. The director hadn't. A mistake that Aditya Chopra learnt from. 'He used to have a book in his room. In these books he used to write box office expectation, his analysis, and eventuality. He has done this for decades. He used to have one fat book,' shared Karan Johar as he spoke about Aditya Chopra in The Romantics. Hrithik Roshan added, 'The whole film used to be broken down into categories, column and questions and then he had the box office numbers. He did all this when he was 12 or 13 years old. And he did this over and over again.' 'Now when you look at these things, you know that these are the things that make him the director-producer he is,' said Abhishek Bachchan. In 1989, Yash Chopra returned with Chandni, a hit that revived his career. But he never ventured beyond romance. A comfort zone that Aditya had already begun to challenge. When Lamhe flopped, a young Aditya (who worked as an AD in the film) had predicted it. Not because he knew the box office, but because he understood the audience. ALSO READ | Sharmila Tagore stayed in a chowkidar's room while Simi Garewal got a bungalow during the shoot of Satyajit Ray's Aranyer Din Ratri: 'You cannot imagine how hot it was' 'This was the first film I put so much of myself into, and I realised… I am a slave to the audience. That shaped me. I decided I wouldn't let success affect me, so failure wouldn't break me,' said Aditya in The Romantics. Aditya Chopra first proved his business acumen when he decided to self-finance his debut film Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). That single decision changed the trajectory of Yash Raj Films. 'Imagine sharing 50% of DDLJ's revenues, I don't think we'd be where we are today', said Aditya Chopra. The decision became the seed that funded YRF's transformation into a full-blown media empire. In 2004, YRF launched its own music label, eliminating third-party licensing. In 2005, the production house launched YRF Studios — a 20 acre facility offering multiple services in filmmaking. Eventually, the director decided to produce multiple films a year. 'We used to do one film in two years,' Aditya said in his rare interview in the docuseries The Romantics. 'I thought, if we know how to produce, why not do more and see where it takes me as a producer?' Yash Raj Films, once synonymous with classic romance, underwent a bold transformation under Aditya Chopra. In 2004, he shocked the industry by announcing a diverse slate: Hum Tum (a fresh romantic comedy), Dhoom (a genre-defining action thriller), and Veer-Zaara (a sweeping cross-border love story). All three released the same year — and all became commercial hits. With this move, Aditya not only expanded the studio's creative horizon but also proved that YRF could thrive beyond its romantic legacy. Apart from direction and production, through YRF Talent, Aditya Chopra also launched the careers of actors Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh, and Bhumi Pednekar. He was the visionary, who advised Shah Rukh Khan to not shut doors for romantic films–the advise which made him a global star. He is the man who spotted a filmmaker in Karan Johar (who otherwise was convinced to go to Paris to learn fashion designing). He created the YRF Spy Universe with his Ek Tha Tiger franchise, War and Pathaan. This is the closest India has come to a Marvel-style franchise. While Yash Chopra gave Bollywood its most beautiful dreams, Aditya Chopra made sure those dreams were bankrolled, protected, and owned. Jyothi Jha works as a Copy Editor at the Indian Express. She brings in more than 5 years of experience where she has covered Entertainment majorly for TV9, NDTV and Republic Media. Apart from Entertainment, she has been an anchor, copy editor and managed production team under the Politics and Daily News segment. She's passionate about Journalism and it has always been her first choice, she believes in what George Orwell had once said, " Journalism is printing what someone else does not want you to do, rest everything is public relations". ... Read More
Indian Express
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Heartbroken' Parmeet Sethi had to shelve film after Salman Khan announced competing project: ‘John Abraham was hurt, studios backed out'
Parmeet Sethi, who marked his acting debut with the Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol-starrer Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), worked relentlessly as an actor until 2010. He appeared both in television and films, until he decided one day that he was going to be a writer instead. He wrote a love story set against India-Pakistan ties, which never saw the light of the day due to several obstacles. He then wrote Badmaash Company, which was produced by Aditya Chopra and became one of the most successful films of that year. After Badmaash Company, Parmeet wrote another larger-than-life story on Indian wrestler Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt, aka The Great Gama. After writing the script, Parmeet approached Aditya Chopra. This time, the producer couldn't back the actor as he was putting together a competing project featuring Salman Khan. Parmeet then approached John Abraham, who was set to back his film. But he was forced to shelve the film as Salman Khan announced another project on the same subject. This led to a long lull in Parmeet's career, who was forced to return to acting. ' Kitchen chalane ke liye kuch toh karna padega ', said the actor. In an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, Parmeet said 'struggle' was the only reason behind the gap in his career. He shared, 'The problem was the film I had written was on The Great Gama. I wanted to make that film and I went to Aditya Chopra with the script. Just a week before, Aditya had approved a similar script, called Sultan, which they eventually made with Salman Khan. Aditya was like, 'I can't make two films about wrestlers.'' This upset Parmeet. But on the suggestion of Aditya Chopra, he stepped outside Yash Raj Productions to approach other producers. 'He was very sweet. He told me, you go out and approach others, I can help you in that. I stepped out of Yash Raj and I approached John Abraham. He loved the script. He was ready to both star and produce the film. We were both happy and started to work on it. Unfortunately, a month later, Salman Khan announced a project on the same subject. So our studio said there are two films coming on the same subject, Salman Khan has announced the film, we cannot take this forward.' Watch the full interview here: With Salman Khan having announcing the project, Parmeet and John had no other option but to shelve their film. 'I was heartbroken. Even John was hurt. The script was mind-blowing, and even if picked up today, it will turn out to be a great film. So the gap that you see from 2010 to 2015, it was because of these struggles. Eventually, I returned to acting.' Parmeet explained that getting his projects green-lit would've required huge stars. 'Bollywood has about 10 stars, and each star is being chased by at least 100 producers. My problem was that every script that I wrote, I wrote it in the bigger scale. The Great Gama was larger than life and required a big budget. Now, when a huge budget comes in play, you can't make it with a smaller star or a newcomer. And if you will desire to have a bigger star, they are already surrounded by these producers. It is a task to make these bigger stars say yes to your film. This is the reason I couldn't make a film because I didn't have a star. Now, I have decided to write smaller films where I can use smaller stars or newcomers.' After the success of Sultan, there were reports of Salman Khan producing a show on The Great Gama. It was also reported that the television series will star his younger brother Sohail Khan in the titular role. There have been no official updates about the series yet.
