The making of Chandni: Throwback to August 1988

August 1988,
Showtime magazine

 

CHANDNI 

This is no moonlighting!

The Harbour Hall at the new Centaur at Juhu is a total mess. Blocks of wood, a carpenter's tools and a number of chairs are strewn around carelessly. 

Thinking that we have probably come to the wrong place, we backpedal swiftly... and almost bump into Sridevi who, along with her impressive entourage, have just entered the Harbour Hall behind us. 

Obviously she knows where Yash is hiding with his unit. Murmuring pleasantries, we wait for the entourage to pass by before tagging along at its end. Stepping gingerly over the mess on the floor, she makes her way to behind a screen that at first glance had seemed like the other end of the room. 

Ah, there he is! Yash Chopra and his entire unit, complete with camera, lights and a stunning constructed travel agency office. The art director has done one hell of a good job. If it was not for the lounging junior artistes who're relaxing in between shots, the set could have given the best travel agency in the city a run for its money. Sridevi's arrival seems like the cue that everybody was waiting for. The junior artistes rush to their positions as office staff and a few customers, while the assistant director shoos guests off the sets. Only Lata, Sridevi's sister, is allowed to sit on the fringes. While the cameraman gives last minute instructions to the light men and Sri touches up her make-up....

....the door is Sridevi's desk where she sits keeping her bag in a corner and adjusts a few papers. A couple of seconds later, her intercom buzzer goes off. She picks up the receiver, murmurs a no-nonsense "Yes sir", picks up a shorthand pad and goes into the room where Vinod has gone in earlier. A relatively simple shot which is canned after three takes. In her bright orange chiffon and stylish sunglasses Sridevi looks anything but a stereotype secretary. In between takes she laughs and chats with her director. From the nervous close-mouthed Amma who could only nod dumbly at simple questions to this beautiful confident actress is a transformation that is staggering. In the past six months Sridevi has lost about 10 kgs bringing her down from 65 kgs to 55 kgs. With her impressive height of 5 ft. 8 inches, she looks pencil slim. The shot over, the ramrod straight, heroine picks up her bag, turns an imperious eye towards Lata and calls, "Lata!" Instantly the little sister gets up and trots over to Sridevi. Once again the entourage in a single file exit to Sridevi's room till she's called for the next shot. The entire unit pauses for a second... 

Image Captions:

Top left photo caption: Seeing eye to eye Vinod Khanna and Sridevi

Bottom right photo caption: Yash Chopra making a (big) point with Sridevi, while Vinod Khanna is in-attentive

Chandni's audio review in Filmfare: August 1989: Sri Joins the Off Key Club: Subash K Jha fires shots!

Well, during the summer of 1989, a few months before the film's release, HMV released the audio of the highly anticipated Yash Chopra film, Chandni. Box-office and reviews aside, the Yash Raj stamp of exquisite, timeless melodies and music was well known to all aficionados. But Shiv Hari outdid themselves with the chart busters . Almost all songs and lyrics were universally praised - Lata Mangeshkar in divine form, Suresh Wadkar's impressive solo, the profound lyrics by Anand Bakshi. 

All were exceptionally received by the critics - well, all but one; the infamous title song crooned by Jolly Mukherjee and the leading lady herself, Sridevi. The fans made the Sridevi song top the charts but... its a fun beat sure... a little shrill! Sridevi herself blushed when the song came up - unlike her contemporaries, she could call out her own clunkers with no hesitation. 

Subash K Jha - the feared critic who held the Filmfare review page hostage with his poison pen for years - went hammer and tongs after Sridevi's vocals. Sridevi, incidentally, is Jha's favourite actress - not singer! 

That's the thing about fandom, it can't be blind devotion. That's enslavement that we don't approve of - of anyone. Let alone, our all-time favourite actress, "the great Sridevi!". 

Excerpt from Filmfare: 

She: "Ankhiyan mein tu bass ja ankhiyan mein band kar loon." 

He: "Tahreko inankhiyan se baatein main chand kar loon." 

That's Bollywood's no. 1 lyric writer Anand Bakshi in Shiv-Hari's score of Chandni (HMV). This santoor player-flautist team has by now become the hallmark of Yash Chopra's films. As usual, their music is neither unimpressive nor enormously impressive. What strikes one about the moonlit score is the poetry - simple and graceful, utterly to-the-point. Lata gives body to the score in four numbers. She sounds like Dimple Kapadia in Bobby (in short, sweet and all of sixteen) in Mere haathon mein. The tune's naughty - imagine a near-60 Lata singing "Mere dorzee se aaj meri jung ho gayee/Kal choli silayee aaj lung ho gayee"! None of her aggressive juniors could have conveyed that captivating innocence in such saucy words. 

Some of Shiv-Hari's tunes are like Khayyam's, on one of his "off" days: Lata's Aa meri jaan, Suresh Wadkar-Nitin Mukesh's Tu mujhe suna and specially Lata-Vinod Rathod's Mehbooba. But the duo emerges with flying colours in the hilly-billy Mithwa where Lata sings like a solitary thrush,

But Sridevi's attempt at "singing"... excuse me while I splutter... in Chandni meri Chandni reminds you how skilled Sharda/Hemlata/Shabbir and the other members of the off-key club are. Co-singer Jolly (Dayavan) Mukherjee tries his utmost to steer the tune but fails. 

Asha Bhosle breezes in for only one song Parbat se kaali ghata (a duet with Vinod Rathod) and leaves you hankering for more. Since Yash Chopra has been persistently trying to mould Shiv-Hari in the Khayyam style ever since the director and composer parted ways after Kabhi Kabhie (the incomparable composer did score for Chopra's Trishul and Sawaal but only half-heartedly), I wonder why they split in the first place!

Cognac sharaab nahin hoti... Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi in Switzerland: Chandni's iconic dialogues

Two brilliant, natural actors who elevated the most simple scenes to comic and romantic gold... 

Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi in glorious Chandni.

Shot in 1989, Rishi Kapoor in a suit, Sridevi in fur coats. 80s over the top Dynasty inspired glamour! 

Legend has it, the scene was improvised and rehearsed by Rishi Kapoor, Sridevi and Yash Chopra - the scene wasn't written. They made it so natural, funny and memroable. 

Sridevi in and as Chandni

 

The white bindi, the white bangles.. glowing, resplendent Sridevi in and as Chandni (1989). 

Mahurat of Chandni : Throwback to 1988

This is early 1988, Sridevi, flanked by Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor, take the stage as film's legendary producer and director looks on behind the camera. 

Famed film critic and cinema historian Anupama Chopra - whose mother Kaamna Chandra wrote the story - reminisced about how beautiful Sridevi looked that night as she glowed in a white sari... If only videos and more images of such cine-historical moments existed. 

Sridevi in and as Chandni: On screen perfection

 

Sridevi Rockin' her Star and Style

Now defunct, Star and Style was a filmy gossip rag that had centerfolds such as these. Believe it or not, its from the set of Chandni. If you go through the film, Sridevi appears in this look in a fleeting scene.

Everything about this look is so... 80s. Love it.

Click to enlarge

Sridevi's alter ego according to MOVIE magazine: Chandni

SRIDEVI 

"....She herself disavows the Hindi version of Sadma "because I was more spontaneous the first time round in the Tamil version." Besides, her voice was dubbed in Hindi. Else Sadma could've been the Tamil tigress' best performance. 

The eerie echoes of a six year old's re-emergence from within the winding tunnels of memory were all the more achingly vivid for their naturalism. Later on, as it often happens when a performer seeks assurance of perfection from applause to previous work, Sridevi happily evolved from playing 16 going on six to forever going on 16. 

The act worked in Mr India like a charm. It also worked for her in Chandni, her highest commercial success. But by Lamhe, the facial aerobics and shrill, jagged voice had begun to scrape nerves. It was like ruining a Balenciaga gown by enthusiastically wearing it once too often. 

She should've had it attended to right after Chandni, her biggest and most brilliant triumph. Chandni happened at the right time to Sridevi. She had the confidence of one who has nothing left to prove. She was the unchallenged No.1, youthful, beautiful, zestful, enormously versatile, ecstatic and she wasn't just playing cute, she was as cute as a cuddly Cheshire kitten, Sri as Chandni was inspired casting. 

Chandni was her alter ego (I wonder if Sri has ever realised that). A girl with a gift for bringing joy to the lives she touched, a girl born for loving and living to the full, a girl with a lot of pride and courage and such a wide streak of obstinacy, she'd never say die. 

CHANDNI SHE WASN'T JUST PLAYING CUTE, SHE WAS AS CUTE AS A CUDDLY CHESHIRE KITTEN. SRIDEVI AS CHANDNI WAS INSPIRED CASTING. CHANDNI WAS HER ALTER EGO

 

NOTE: Well, obviously I don't agree with all the above - I didn't find Sridevi shrill in Lamhe - in fact, it is the favourite performance of many - perhaps even more than Chandni. But then, an editorial opinion is just that, an opinion. You can't get it right all the time - I mean, they spelt Chandni wrong in the entire copy! To err is human... 

For the uninitiated, 

An alter ego - Latin for "other I" - refers to a secondary identity, distinct persona, or alternate self that exists alongside a person's primary personality. It can manifest in various ways: as a deliberately created performer persona used to explore uninhibited aspects of oneself, a secret identity in fiction, or a psychological manifestation of suppressed desires and traits. Whether adopted consciously for artistic expression or existing as a conceptual mirror, an alter ego allows an individual to channel impulses, emotions, or capabilities that their everyday persona might otherwise constrain. 

Sridevi's chiffon saris from Chandni (1989)

The prevailing memory of Sridevi in Chandni would be her innumerable outfits and ensembles in white... But for a brief moment, Sridevi appears in this chiffon sari looking effortlessly elegant and immeasurably beautiful during a song sequence. 

Yash Chopra's musical made a seismic shift in the way Bollywood movies were being made at the time. Worth watching, and re-watching again. And again. 

The gorgeous rom com and musical, Chandni (1989). 

Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi in Chandni (1989)

Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi in Chandni (1989)

Chandni's mellow yellow saris: Not just white for Sridevi

Of the 63 or so ensembles, saris, salwars and wowsa wardrobe looks Sridevi sported in and as Chandni, most people remember her predominantly in white in the film - as this luminescent Goddess on the big screen. This was back in 1989 and Indian fashion at its peak. Sridevi worked every look, colour and style in the movie. Some of our other fan favourite looks were more of this sun-kissed yellow. 

Fact of the matter is, Sridevi looked good in every colour. 

Sridevi in Chandni: Hiya!

Sridevi, 25, in Chandni: Hiya! 

Could she be any cuter... 

Released on 14 Sep 1989, the film was a runaway blockbuster. A classic of the genre from the 1980s, the rom-com-musical. 

Chandni (1989): Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi in Switzerland

Sridevi's iconic title-role and film, Chandni. She and Rishi Kapoor sparkled in the film. Flawless performances by both.

Released on 28 November 1986. 

Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi in Chandni

Everything you wanted to know about the film and a collection of pics from this flawless movie here.

Sridevi in Chandni

Sridevi

Click to enlarge

Celebrating Chandni: 37 Years of a Yash Chopra Classic

 

Released on 5 September 1989, its 37 years of a Yash Chopra-Sridevi-Rishi Kapoor-Vinod Khanna-Shiv Hari-'s classic! The film had a flawless cast on screen, and crew off screen. 

Can't believe its been 37 years! 

I remember watching the VHS cassette of this early on and being mesmerised by the movie... 

Chandni: now and forever: Sridevi's most memorable title role

Tomorrow is the 37th anniversary of Chandni - Sridevi's alter ego on the big screen. Easily her most memorable title role, a career defining hit, role, performance, style... everything about the film... just magic. 

Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor: Remembering Chintuji on his birth anniversary

 

One of the most successful, enduring careers in Bollywood, Rishi Kapoor was one of a kind - and a severely underappreciated actor of consequence and importance. The ease in front of the camera, dialogue delivery, keeping up with the times, his investment in his roles, his uncensored opinions, his way with words, confidence, temperament... everything was larger than life and meant for the big screen. 

His brutal honestly got in his way on occasion - well, mostly on social media, but he'll forever be remembered for his performances, hits, and the legacy of the Kapoor name that lasts till date.

Remembering him on his birth anniversary today. He fought cancer for long, without declaring it in the public, but succumbed to it at age 67. Pity. He would have turned a hearty 74 today but alas... fate had something else in store for him. 

He acted with Sridevi in only six films - but what films! Perhaps most memorable, Chandni - in 1989. As Sridevi herself stated, had it not been for Rishi Kapoor providing the perfect foil, the film couldn't have worked. Sridevi had the title role, was in nearly every frame, but Rishi Kapoor's effortless acting was a masterclass, and he held his own. He should have won Best Actor for this film too. But... Filmfare works in mysterious ways... 

Sridevi with Rishi Kapoor in Chandni (1989)

Remembering Rishi Kapoor today on his birth anniversary. Born on 4 Sep 1952, Rishi Kapoor's underrated performance in Chandni needs to be revisited. He was fantastic; matched Sridevi step by step. Be it in the comedy, drama, the songs and dances... a natural foil to the exuberant Sridevi. 

He was the most fun, outspoken man of his time. Always gave great interviews. 

1989: Chandni's film poster: Hand painted iconography

The fading art of painting posters for Hindi films. 

Some of the original prints and posters make a fortune in the auction market. Alas, rarely does the money filter down to the original artists. 

Chandni and Lamhe had incredible art. Yash Raj films knew the power of the image. Note how striking all their visuals have been from the get-go. 

Chandni (1989): Yash Chopra's classic

Film producer and director Yash Chopra said about Sri, "Sridevi is such a good actress that she merged into the character of my heroine Chandni. She made the character overpower her star image. That is her biggest asset. Imagine an actress from the south has become a living character in the north! Now you have Chandni sarees, salwar kameez and even chudiyan."