Yash Chopra's birthday: King of Romance who redefined the Bollywood heroine

He is called the King of romance...being the leading lady of aYashChoprafilm meant a career in Bollywood has been sealed....

In a career span sprawling over five decades through which he directed 22 films,Yash Chopra practically cast every A-list heroine.

His love stories were classic, and his heroines were characters chequered across classic symbols – deep red roses, tasteful décor and a stunning bespoke wardrobe of pastel chiffons, and textured silks.

But there’s more to the Yash Chopra heroine than just dancing in beautiful chiffon sarees, and romantic songs.

On his birth anniversary, we try to decode what went behind the legendary filmmaker's representation of women in Hindi cinema.

Rekha | Silsila

In 1981,YashChopramade Silsila, the film made waves at the time during to the casting of Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, and Jaya Bhaduri.

The audiences swooned over Amitabh Bachchan’s heart-wrenching longing for Rekha, which Chopra expressed in songs and poems strewn all over the classic movie.

At the time, the film was path-breaking in its portrayal of an extra-marital affair, where the 'other woman', was not portrayed as the stereotypical vamp, which was so common in Hindi cinema.

The film was a refreshing, realistic portrayal of complications in an adult marriage.

Sridevi | Chandni and Lamhe

'Chandni' and 'Lamhe' are now practically unimaginable without Sridevi, and undoubtedly are among her biggest Bollywood blockbusters.

'Chandni' was a romantic musical with all the hallmarks of aYashChoprafilm. A heroine-oriented, romantic, emotional film with melodious songs shot at picturesque foreign locations.

But the pièce de résistance was in there too. The semi-classical tandav performed by Sridevi in a white Amrapali costume by a Swiss lakeside.

Chopraand Sridevi went on to work on 'Lamhe', another film with the bold theme of a young woman falling in love with a mature man. The film was considered ahead of its time, and has developed a cult following of its own.

Sridevi was given the centre stage in both films, at a time in the industry, where the heroes were known to secure hits for producers.

Juhi Chawla | Darr

In 1993 film film, Juhi Chawla was showcased as Shah Rukh Khan, the stalker’s unattainable subject of desire.

Juhi fit into the Chopra mould effortlessly.

Yet while dealing with an obsessive stalker, Chopra's heroine never loses focus of the right and the wrong. She remains steadfast in hatred of her stalker, who is ultimately killed.

Madhuri Dixit Nene | Dil Toh Pagal Hai

In the 1997 romantic drama, 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai', Madhuri played Pooja, who believed that 'someone, somewhere was made for her.'

Chopra introduces this conflict with the imaginary character of Maya, that Rahul, played by Shah Rukh often conjures up as 'the ideal woman.'

When he finds Pooja, a woman in flesh identical to Maya, he finds that impossible to fathom.

Then there was 'Dolna,' which is set in the greener pastures of Switzerland, in quintessential Yash Chopra style.

On his 80th birthday, in a conversation with Shah Rukh Khan,Yash Chopra had said, "God has made women beautiful. I respect all women. I don’t see any ‘badness’ in them. I am doing my duty by making God’s creations even more beautiful."

Yash Chopra's films were a celebration of womanhood...

His camera made love to the woman in frame, but never objectified her.

The Yash Chopra heroine is an object of desire, one that you revere and respect, ....and for whom you reserve an indelible spot in your heart.