Yash Chopra's obsession with Chandni: Long before Sridevi and long after!

 

"Yash Chopra never quite got over his Sridevi hangover and almost always chose to present his lead [ing] heroines in similar outfits; Juhi Chawla in Darr (1993), Madhuri Dixit in Dil To Pagal Hai (1997),  Priety Zinta in Veer-Zaara (2004), but none of them became half as iconic as Sridevi did after Chandni. 

- BizAsia describing the effect of the Chandni look

Flattering, almost true, but... a tad inaccurate. Rekha created the template for the Yash Chopra heroine, in fact it is well recorded that she was the original choice for the title role; look for her white ensembles in Silsila (1981), and her character was called Chandni. 

Scroll a bit further and look for Farha [Tabu's elder sister] in Faasle (1985), also in mostly-white salwaars, singing on the hills of Switzerland AND her character was also called Chandni yet again. 

Both films hit the marquee long before Sridevi was on Yash Chopra's radar. 

So really, Yash Chopra (or his writers!) were obsessed with some girl called Chandni somewhere who loved monochrome Punjabi ensembles, with long flowing hair, minimal accessories and makeup... the Yash Raj ideal. The mold was set, the women filling that void kept changing. 

Above: Rekha as Chandni in the film Silsila

Below Sridevi in a white sari near-identical to the one Rekha wore 9 years prior to Chandni

Above: Farha as Chandni in Faasle

Above: Rishi Kapoor, Sridevi in and as Chandni