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| Vintage poster of Chandni (1989) |
Three decades ago today, the poetic and perfect Hindi film Chandni was unveiled.
Released on September 14, 1989, I feel this generation would not be able to fathom what a momentous event it was when Chandni hit theatres and surpassed every expectation the marvelous film had (the anticipation for the movie was huge as it had the best pre-release buzz) be it with the critics (who lapped it up) or the masses (which helped the movie break records in audio and ticket sales).
Every single aspect of Chandni was a hit and we have a rich archive of facts and factoids, images, posters, postcards, interviews related to, quotes about, behind the scenes shots from... well, just everything about that Yash Raj film here.
Sridevi was already prim and poised as the queen of Bollywood (with the mega success of Nagina, Mr India, Karma behind her, a slew of Jeetendra films raking in mega bucks, recognition for Sadma etc etc) but the press went frantic in trying to propel Sridevi into a league of her own; thus was born the "Amitabh Bachchan of actresses" title, Superstarni (a personal lol-tastic fav from Stardust magazine!), the Empress of India (from Filmfare) and other hyperventilated hyperbolic titles that Sri simply took in her sari-clad stride.
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| Sridevi and Vinod Khanna in Chandni (1989) |
Essentially, Chandni is the quintessential role for any leading lady; title role, the glamour, the chart-busting song and dance routines, dramatic scenes for critical reception, comedy, costumes (two headline designers - long before celebrity stylists), a long arch to showcase every emotion and versatility and of course the happily-ever-after end to appease the crowds still allergic to tragedies.
There are several posters of Chandni out there but these two were predominantly plastered all around Mumbai - well, Bombay back then. Yeah, everyone knew who the star of the show was (with no disrespect to the accomplished actors Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna, who paled in comparison to luminous Sridevi - a fact to which both will concede!).
- Rare pics of Sridevi and Rishi Kapoor during the making of Chandni in Switzerland here.
- Yash Chopra and Sridevi talk about each other here.
- A gallery of images of the cast and crew at the movie premiere here.
- Film posters of Chandni here.
- Meeting Sridevi on the sets of Chandni here.
- To Sri with love, Yash Chopra. A feature.
- Excerpt from "Yash Chopra, Fifty years in Indian cinema" by Rachel Dwyer here.
- Notes on Chandni by Rachel Dwyer here.
- Yash Chopra talks about Chandni here.
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| Poster of Chandni in 1989 |
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