Chopra commenced the shooting of Deewar and in between launched Kabhi Kabhie with a grand mahurat. In 1975 Deewar was released and declared superhit and soon after, the unit left for month long schedule to Kashmir for the shooting.
“Those days were different; the unit traveled and worked together like a large family and shooting was more like a picnic” recalled Yash Chopra in one of the many interviews I did with him in my long career. He said he was always exploring ideas and one idea that haunted him was about what happens to a person who marries a partner he does not love? The poet/ Amitabh Bachchan in his film Kabhi Kabhie become a bitter man, while Pooja/ Raakhee falls in love with her husband/ Shashi Kapoor.
“Most Indian women are like Pooja; they place their family before themselves but men react differently and Kabhi Kabhie was about perspectives and how they affect our quality of life. It was also about different generations expressing love in different ways. So, while the Amitabh-Raakhee’s romance is shayrana laced with Shahir Ludhianvi’s poetry, Shashi Kapoor and Raakhee are a cheerful couple and Neetu Singh -Rishi Kapoor more aggressive and energetic in expression.”
To be continued