Subhash K Jha reminisces about talking with Yash Chopra about Dil To Pagal Hai which starred Karisma Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Shah Rukh Khan. This chat with the iconic director was a week after the release of the film in 1997. Dil To Pagal Hai, which re-opens this Friday , was declared a bumper hit.
Yash Chopra was happy. And not hiding it. When I reached his bungalow, this gracious movie moghul greeted me at the door and welcomed me with a hug. “Please congratulate me. My film is a roaring hit. People just can’t get enough of it. Shah Rukh called five minutes ago to crib he can’t get tickets for his family. I am so happy with the success of Dil To Pagal Hai. It proves that love and love stories will never get outdated. When a film clicks, the entire film industry benefits.”
Yashji had no qualms accepting that the film’s young, trendy look came from his son. “It is Adi (Aditya Chopra) who keeps abreast of the trends in world cinema. The look of Dil To Pagal Hai is entirely his idea. But you must have noticed Madhuri Dixit’s character wears salwar-kameez and sarees throughout. Being trendy doesn’t mean you abandon your culture and start aping the West. My heroines always look very sophisticated in Sarees.”
Yashji credited the music and songs of Dil To Pagal Hai for the super-success. “Oh ho ho! Kya gaane Uttam Singh ne banaaye. He offered me nearly 150 tunes from which I picked 11. I am going to work with Uttam Singh over and over again (for the record, the director and composer never collaborated again). And Lataji, my Mata Saraswati , she has sung all the eleven songs, except one. I don’t know how she manages to sound so young at her age. I told Adi we won’t make a film without Lataji’s voice for as long as I am alive. See how she lights up Madhuri Dixit’s dancing in Dil To Pagal Hai.”
Reliving the casting procedure of Dil To Pagal Hai, Yashji had said, “Shah Rukh and Madhuri were the first choice for Rahul and Pooja. But we had a lot of problems with the casting for Nisha, until Karisma Kapoor accepted the offer. Almost every other heroine said no. They felt with Madhuri already in the film; there would be no scope for the other heroine. Imagine if Vyjayanthimala had felt the same way about Bimal Roy’s Devdas!”
