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EXCLUSIVE: Juhi Chawla on Yash Chopra - He used to say no matter what, a Heroine must always look beautiful
Juhi Chawla recalls anecdotes from the sets of Yash Chopra's Darr.
Yash Chopra was a legendary filmmaker who made many Bollywood stars' careers including Juhi Chawla for whom Yash ji's directorial Darr was a breakthrough performance for the actress.
As today marks Yash Ji's birth anniversary, we got in touch with Juhi who spoke candidly about the filmmaker and shared some anecdotes from the sets of Darr.
On Yash Ji, Juhi said, "I got to work with Yash ji first in the film Chandni, where he gave me the chance to play in a guest appearance. The lead opposite Vinod Khanna ji. It was a very brief appearance but it was a huge film at that time and I was very new in the film industry. And then, I got to work in his production in the film Aaina. His wife Pam Chopra ji and Honey Irani ji had written the script and they were like the hands-on producers. But, it was under the banner of Yash ji and for Aaina, that was the first time that anybody had ever...Honey ji (Irani) had called me over to her house and told me the entire story of Aaina, scene-wise. Then, a year or two later I got to be signed on to Darr which was Yash ji's production and direction. It was a huge film for me. I was just making it in the industry, making a mark and getting somewhere at that time. So it was a very big step for me. And Yash ji again, for his film, he had called me over, he sat me down and went through the entire story of Darr. At that time, I remember, there was no other film that I had ever been told the entire story of. We used to sign the film on the basis of - the lead actor is so and so, the production house is so and so, this is the director and the story is something like this. We were told in 3-4 lines on what it might be like. But, in Yash ji's productions...now when I look back, I realise that they used to work on their script so well. They knew what they were making. As an actor, I wasn't even a big star at that time but they would sit me down and tell me the entire story so that I knew what I was getting into. Also, I remember that he was open to my comments and he did say at the end of the story, 'What did you think of it?' It was amazing because I was a very new star, I would say, in the industry. He was a very big producer-director."
Sharing about her fond memories while shooting for Darr, the actress said, "Then I remember in Darr, we were going to go for the outdoor shooting to Switzerland and it was a very long schedule of 20-25 days as the entire second half of Darr is in Switzerland. Before the shooting, he wanted everything ready beforehand. Neeta Lulla was doing my clothes and I remember she had to get 30-40 outfits ready way before we left. Yash ji...in his house, we were given a room where basic makeup was done and we tried on all the 30-40 outfits and quick pictures were taken. We created the lookbook for the film so that Yash ji would know exactly what I can look like in that outfit and whatever he didn't like was not going to be taken with us. That was how well he would plan things. I had never worked in any other production house where things had been, at that time, organised. Today I know, everything is very compartmentalized. You have ready scripts and everything is very well planned out today. But at that time it was still the time of free-flowing. Scenes would get written on the sets and things would happen as things went along. But, in Yash ji's films at that time, everything was very well planned and it was beautifully done. Yash ji was a wonderful person. Of course, he was very senior so I was always in awe of him but very warm. Always on his sets, food was a big thing. The yummiest food used to get cooked...all of us used to sit and eat together whether it was here or it was in Switzerland. In fact, in Switzerland, I remember for that entire 20-30-day schedule, we were all in one huge chalet. Shah Rukh (Khan), myself, Yash ji, Pam ji and the cook had been taken from India over there. Manmohan Singh ji, who was the cameraperson, very senior and lovely person again...all of us used to stay in that one chalet and that cook used to be cooking food. In the evenings, when we would come back from shooting, we would get dinner. After dinner, everybody would sit down in the drawing room of the chalet. Pam ji would sing and Yash ji would tell us stories and anecdotes from his previous films and what used to happen. It was such a wonderful time working with him."
What was the one piece of advice given by Yash ji to her that the actress cherished even today? On this, Juhi revealed, "A piece of advice from Yash ji...this wasn't directly said to me but, it was something he said. I had just a few days of shooting for Chandni. I played the person Vinod Khanna ji's character was in love with and she fell ill and she passed away. I was shooting these scenes where I was unwell and very close to death. Pandhari Juker, one of the senior and wonderful makeup artist of our times, he was doing my makeup. I was supposed to be in the hospital and they put dark circles under my eyes to look sallow. He had done the makeup and Yash ji looked at me and said 'Nahin, nahin, yeh zyaada ho gaya thoda. kam karo isko. Heroine, chahe kuch bhi ho,'...matlab, scene kuch bhi ho, even if it's a sad scene or a death sequence, 'Heroine hamesha khoobsurat lagni chahiye.' (laughs) This line, he said it to Pandhari dada but I heard this and it has stayed with me for so long. This is something that I learned that heroine hamesha khoobsurat lagni chahiye. I took it very seriously as a learning for me that on screen I shall always try and look my best. That's what I always did in all my films ki jo bhi ho, you must always be careful about how you're looking. For years, this advice played a huge part on how I presented myself in my career."
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