Birthday Special: Aditya Chopra and Yash Raj Films: Going beyond romance

Aditya Chopra is the son of Yash Chopra whorsquos the brother of BR Chopra so two things were very much likely to be inherited by the filmmaker Romance and Scale We all saw that and were swept away by the world he created in his directorial debut in 1995 the blockbuster Dilwale Dulhania Le JayengeYash Raj Films has built its legacy on creating largerthanlife sagas with gorgeous locations haunting music and mega movie stars Particularly talking about Aditya Chopra who celebrates his 50th birthday today all his films as a director have been love stories But as a producer he has attempted to narrate stories that come very close to realityOne of the leading production houses in the country Chopras YRF has gone beyond the glossy world of love multiple times in the last decade Expectedly few of them failed to strike a chord initially but still remain brave experiments Here are some of themDhoom 2004Dhoom is now an immensely successful franchise that reinvented the careers of Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra Back in 2004 YRF attempted to create a world what Rohit Shetty mastered later Dhoom gave us infectious exchanges between the hero and the villain flying cars and montages of some very beautiful and exorbitant bikes John Abraham as the suave antagonist and Bachchan as his bete noire remains a rivalry for the agesKabul Express 2006War documentary filmmaker turned film director Kabir Khan shot this thriller in the landscape of Afghanistan brimming with mystery and mayhem Two journalists arrive for a story and are sucked into the terror that controls Kabul It stars John Abraham and Arshad Warsi is presented by the late Yash Chopra so calling Khanrsquos debut lsquononcommercialrsquo isnrsquot fair but yes for those who savour the other side of the YRF staple Kabul Express may not excite youChak De India 2007 and Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year 2009Few filmmakers have shown the range Shimit Amin has in his career He began with a gangster flick followed with a sports drama and continued with a film about something we all detest but miss in 2021 The office space Chak De India and Rocket Singh were films about a manrsquos journey in a familiar land and the challenges that he encounters Shah Rukh Khanrsquos hockey field and Ranbir Kapoorrsquos office desk are filled with people who look at these heroes with disdain Both Kabir Khan and Harpreet Singh Bedi are Superheroes without the capes and any histrionics One wants to conquer the World Cup victory and the other wishes for integrity in the business world Khan and Kapoor were barely Khan and Kapoor yet delivered what remains their most rousing performances so farDum Laga Ke Haisha 2015Is there any other actor who understands the milieu of the heartland as tenaciously as Ayushmann Khurrana Who but Bhumi Pednekar to essay a woman who hails from a smalltown the very representation of the soil Her name says it all This charming ode to nostalgia begins as a hate story and slowly morphs into a romance with a sport in its climax where the husband literally has to lift the burden of his wife to win a coveted prize by none other than Kumar Sanu arguably the biggest name in the music industry in the 90s Anu Malik marked his solid return as the music director with one comforting melody after another The 90s were truly the bestFan 2016Maneesh Sharma and Aditya Chopra wanted to pay homage to the legacy of Shah Rukh Khan and also paint it with a critical lens A fan Khan as Gaurav a Superstar also Khan as Aryan Khanna and a tragedy Khan vs Khan was what transpired the narrative of this thriller People have issues with the second half critiquing the fanrsquos means to seek revenge from his idol A sudden case of mistaken identity triggers Gauravrsquos objective and we witness what personally remains an audacious attempt Gaurav resembles Aryan and it could have been nothing else but his face as the object of retribution With Fan SRK not only showed the magnitude of his stardom but also displayed how the biggest of stars are inconsequential without ahellip FANAlso Read Aditya Chopra donates YRF 50 celebration budget to Covid19 aid