The docu-series The Romantics, celebrating the Yash Chopra and Yash Raj Films' legacy in the history of Indian cinema, was released on Tuesday, February 14, on the occasion of Valentine's Day. Spread across four episodes, the series shows 35 leading personalities from Hindi cinema sharing their thoughts about the late legendary filmmaker and the YRF. These include Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Juhi Chawla, Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Anupam Kher, Kajol, Abhishek Bachchan, Ranveer Singh, Karan Johar, Uday Chopra, Pamela Chopra, and the enigmatic man Aditya Chopra too in his first on-camera interview.
After binge-watching The Romantics, Karan Johar penned an emotional note on Instagram in which he called Yash Chopra 'a pillar of belief and conviction' and YRF his 'alma mater', which began as, "Binged watched #theromantics on @netflix_in by @smritimundhra for my alma mater @yrf".
He further lauded the late director's vision and said that the 'good old-fashioned conviction' has vanished from the Hindi film industry. "I realised the purity, the innocence, and the conviction we all collectively had is so lost today for most of us. Yash Chopra is not just a legend of romance, a connoisseur of chiffon, music, and beauty, a maestro of musicals, he was also a pillar of belief and conviction. Is there any conviction left today? We are burdened by media commentary, box office opening analytics, research engines (all probably relevant to the technology and times) but where did good old-fashioned conviction vanish? The rom doc reminds us of the past that seemed so organic and heartfelt. Makes me want to go back to that zone of filmmaking", he wrote.
Karan further stated that he learnt everything he knows from the corridors of YRF and feels deeply inspired by their journey, as he continued, "I am so deeply inspired by the YRF story, its origin, and its journey. Having learnt everything I know from the corridors of the studio I stand blessed and watching The Romantics made me so self-aware of my strengths and my failings. Thank you @smritimundhra for weaving a narrative out of the archives and actually making an audience go through the many emotional beats through the 4 episodes, just brilliant!".
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Aditya Chopra has been an extremely private person in his personal life and The Romantics features him talk about his passion for cinema extensively. Sharing his thoughts on his bond with Aditya, Karan concluded his post and wrote, "And finally my best friend has a face and how beautifully articulate was he!!! Adi does that mean I can post all the images we have shared over decades that you have threatened to never speak to me if I put out? #justasking #loveyouAdi congratulations to my dearest friend @udayc (Uday Chopra) for being such a force behind this."
Directed by Indian American Oscar-nominated filmmaker Smriti Mundhra and produced by YRF Entertainment, The Romantics is streaming on Netflix.
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