My memories of Yashji

Manmohan Singh

EVERYONE is talking about ‘The Romantics’. I had been invited to be a part of the docu-series, too, but my health did not permit me to travel to Mumbai. So, in that sense, my association with the series isn’t direct, but, I have been receiving calls from people who have seen it, telling me how I am seen beside Yash Chopraji in every other frame.

Yashji and I had a long association of almost two decades. I had already done a Punjabi film (‘Chann Pardesi’) and a few Hindi films by then — ‘Ehsaas’, ‘Betaab’ and ‘Souten’ — when I met him. His long-time cameraman, Kay Gee, had passed away and he was looking for a cinematographer. Sound recordist Mangesh Desai had mixed ‘Souten’ and ‘Betaab’ and admired my work in both the films. He suggested to Yashji to consider me. And one day, I got a call from him. Our first film together was ‘Faasle’, which came out in 1984. We went on to do so many films together — ‘Chandni’, ‘Lamhe’, ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’, ‘Darr’...

When we first worked together, he was already huge and I was a bit hesitant. But he slowly showed confidence in me and gave me more space, involving me in various facets of filmmaking — be it editing or music. This continued throughout.

Yashji had an inherent thing for beauty and he would often say: “My film should look beautiful. When people come to watch my film, I should be able to transport them into a dream. I want them to fly away with me into another space.”

He would always want people he worked with to continue working with him, and not just collaborate on a project or two. And people stayed on because of how he valued them. It was believed that when people worked with Yashji, they gave him their best, whether an actor, a technician or a musician. He was very conscious of what he wanted, understood the capabilities of people working with him and extracted more than 100 per cent from them. Only he could have extracted music from Shiv-Hari as he did in ‘Silsila’, ‘Chandni’, ‘Lamhe’ or ‘Darr’ and Uttam Singh in ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’.

I believe there are two reasons behind this: one, he had clarity of thought about what he wanted from a person and secondly, he had confidence in these people working with him. Everybody was allowed to comment on his script. The entire team, the technicians included, were told the script, with the narrations sometimes running into several hours. This was followed by discussions — “what do you think”, he would ask each one, “what did you like”, “what didn’t you like”. That’s the kind of involvement he had with his team. He inspired, with love. And people wanted to do better and better for him. This is what happened with me always. Sometimes he would just tell me to listen to the scene and prepare for the shot, no ideas shared, absolutely nothing discussed. He would show that kind of faith in you. And that prompted me to suggest openings sometimes and he appreciated my ideas. This despite the fact that the stakes are so high in films.

What also boosted my confidence was the fact that he was a fellow Punjabi and loved raunaq-mela around him. Tea and snacks flowed, outings were organised. He kept it light. We enjoyed so much with him. All the films evoke such happy memories.

And then began my journey with Aditya Chopra in ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’. His working style was different from his father’s. Yashji would improvise a lot on the sets. Adi, on the other hand, would come to the sets with a scene properly worked out, the shot divisions already clear to him. The span of each little shot, the direction from which the shot would be taken — the masterplan would be ready. Like his father, he would ask for our opinion, too, but already had in mind what he wanted. He was always thoroughly prepared. His films, as such, took time. He would want rehearsals of the trolley, crane, artistes... Before a shot, he would want everything prepared, he would do retakes.

Before the making of ‘DDLJ’, I was about to direct a film named ‘Ajay’ with Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla. But one day, Yashji called me and told me, “Aditya has never asked me for anything, but always told me that whenever he made a film, he would want you to be his cameraman.” I am really emotional about it. I promised him then and there that whenever Adi makes a film, just tell me a little in advance and I will be there for him. And I did.

Had I seen his genius streak when he had just started out? Well, we all had known Aditya ever since he was a kid and were around when he began involving himself in the process of filmmaking. Yashji would say that this boy watches even the worst of films. He was so passionate, just like his father. ‘DDLJ’ and ‘Mohabbatein’ are some of my most memorable projects with him.

‘Mohabbatein’, which released in 2000, was my last under the Yash Raj Films’ banner. They were planning another film with Shah Rukh and Amitabh Bachchan in the lead and I was also location hunting for the same. This was also a time when I had written a script for a Punjabi film, my long-time dream, and had also signed a few people for the same. Shah Rukh’s dates weren’t available for a while and I told Yashji that I would like to make my film in the meantime. He told me to go ahead. However, as luck would have it, one of Shah Rukh’s films got shelved and he was free to do ‘Veer-Zaara’. Yashji asked me if I could do the film, but I had already made commitments to people in Punjab and ‘Jee Aayan Nu’ was on track. He said that directing a film was the ultimate dream of a technician and if I was confident, I must go ahead with it. That made my leaving easier.

I left Hindi cinema and embraced Punjabi, but Yash Chopra always remained family. Even today, whenever I am in Mumbai, I visit the studio. There, every Saturday and Sunday, films are showed and people they have worked with are invited to these screenings. We watch films, discuss them. Yashji and his wife, Pam Chopraji, had started this tradition and it continues till today. Yash Raj Films remains one big family.

— The writer is a cinematographer-director and worked with Yash Chopra on some of his iconic films

(As told to Sarika Sharma)