The Romantics Review: When I was done with The Romantics, I was reminded of an article a former colleague of mine submitted to mea couple of years back. The person was asked to do a feature on Yash Chopra, but when they was done with the piece, what I got was a ravishing love letter to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, and a little mention to one of Bollywood's most revered filmmakers' actual directorials. I am not saying The Romantics did exactly that, I think it had more to do with my expectations of what I wanted to see in the Netflix docu-series. The Romantics: Netizens Give Big Thumbs Up to Yash Chopra and Aditya Chopra's Netflix Documentary That Celebrates YRF Legacy.

You see, I expected The Romantics to be a love letter to late Yash Chopra (whose legacy recently completed 50 years), which it was especially in the first episode, but moves on from beyond him to his successor. The first episode was quite a charmer, focusing on the rise of Yash Chopra the filmmaker. From his early career making social films like Dhool Ka Phool and Dharmputra to making Deewar and to transitioning to romantic, softer films, I quite enjoyed the episode. The personal insights shared by people who were close to him then, including wife Pamela Chopra, younger son Uday Chopra (whose accent keeps wavering, but hey, he did warn us at the start itself about it), actors Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan who were childhood friends of his sons, were interesting to hear, and I am always a fan when they showed throwback videos and pictures.

Yes, at one point, I felt I had learnt more about this man (and even his sons) through Karan Johar's autobiography An Unsuitable Boy, but still there was a heartwarming feeling to go through some of his cinema that has built up the lore for many Bollywood fanatics like me. Also it was nice to see the late Rishi Kapoor on the screen in what is his last interview, as he says 'After Sex, cinema is the entertainment the people want, especially Indians', leaving his wife Neetu Singh laughing awkwardly.

When it comes to his movies, not all of Yash Chopra's filmography gets enough exploration. Don't actually remember anyone talking about Yash Chopra making Ittefaq, a rare song-less thriller featuring the late Rajesh Khanna whose movies come with a prerequisite of blockbuster soundtrack. While Deewar gets fawned upon from ushering the era of Angry Young Man, glamourised by a certain Amitabh Bachchan, that too during the Emergency period, Yash Chopra's other angry Amitabh movies like Trishul and Kaala Patthar (a personal fave) get sidetracked. I wished somebody would talk about Dilip Kumar's utterly devastating cry for help scene in Mashaal.

I know, I know the movie flopped but that scene is burnt cruelly in my mind forever, purely for how deeply impactful the anguish in that scene is and in Dilip Kumar saab's performance. I thought maybe that's so, 'cos they didn't gel with the title of The Romantics. Wish the series didn't link the movie's impact with its box office performance.

Watch the Trailer of The Romantics:

Interestingly, Silsila is also only fleetingly covered, unlike Kabhie Kabhie; even though the film wasn't much of a success at the box office, its legacy impact is huge enough to be ignored. But then, I do understand the overlooking... and I am sure many of you do as well. We are here mostly to talk of the niceties, even when talking about the lows, and you would be silly to expect anything otherwise. There is no Sunny Deol here to talk how he felt being sidelined in Darr that he was punching himself through his pockets.

Vijay, starring Anil Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor, was also discussed, majorly to understand the late director's need to transition from potboilers that didn't work for him to a genre that people now associate him with -  Romance. Thus came Chandni (with a nice tribute to the late Sridevi) and Lamhe (a film that people still say was made ahead of its time)...

The second episode is a miracle-maker. It finally brings the man, the myth - Mr Aditya Chopra - in front of the camera, and hey, it turns out that he is a really good, sensible talker with absolute no awkwardness about giving an interview. From hereon, the allegiance of the show shifts from the father to the son. Now personally, I am not a huge fan of Aditya Chopra's films, including DDLJ (yes, sue me), but the kind of cinema-changing wave that his debut film brought in cannot be denied, and it is easily understood why the second episode is so dedicated to this film, while also giving some space to my most fave Yash Chopra film since the '90s, Darr.

The second episode is very much likeable for three main reasons - one for nostalgia. Two, to decode this quirky genius behind Aditya Chopra. Three, it gives more footage to Shah Rukh Khan, and when has that been a bad thing? It was engrossing to know of the creative conflicts that Adi had with his father on the sets of the film, the BTS scenes (esp. loved the one where Kajol is harassing an already harangued-looking Adi, and SRK interviewing a terse Yash Chopra). At times, I felt that the celebratory tone of the episode felt ironic, because let's be honest, Aditya Chopra could never replicate the success of his first film. However, there is no denying that this is a man who has a brilliant acumen when it comes to understanding cinema, even if that doesn't always deliver on screen. And I know that this docu-series was made much before Pathaan came out, but SRK would surely be glad that his best friend stuck to his word and made an action film with him. The Romantics: Ranbir Kapoor Calls Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge As 'Defining Film Of His Generation'.

Although I was confused why there was a need to bring in Lilly Singh to standin for NRI diaspora and talk about global impact of DDLJ. I mean, she gets more footage than Salman Khan, who is barely there in the series.

Which brings us to the third episode, that is more of about the business-minded success of Aditya Chopra into making Yash Raj Films into one of Indian Cinema's biggest production houses, if not the biggest. The most interesting bit about the episode was when Aditya Chopra reveals that he had no confidence about Kunal Kohli's Mujhse Dosti Karoge, and how he took over the creative control of YRF from his father after the film's failure, following which they had a terrific year in 2004, with Hum Tum, Dhoom and Veer Zara.

The third episode is more of about how Aditya Chopra made YRF Studios a force to reckon with in the '2000s with major hits and launching new faces. Ranveer Singh talks about how he got Band Baaja Baaraat, despite failed rehearsal sessions. I want to find it interesting, but it paled significantly in comparison to the earlier episode about how SRK got into Yash Chopra's bandwagon. Actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, Rani Mukerji, John Abraham et al talk about the YRF films changed their lives either watching the YRF films or being part of the.

Call me old-fashioned and a prude, I didn't find insights into Dhoom and Band Baaja Baaraat as engrossing as Deewar and Kabhie Kabhie, for the former haven't broken into that 'classic' category. One exclusion though is Saif Ali Khan sharing a conversation with Aditya Chopra before signing Hum Tum, when the latter told him to fill in the vacancy for romantic hero after Shah Rukh Khan and mold himself for the multiplex audience. That's some fascinating foresight. Another enchanting example of Aditya Chopra's foresight comes with his insistence of giving YRF a state-of-the-art studio and getting into distribution business prepare itself against the influx of global giants getting into Bollywood. The results, even if the series don't touch upon it, are there to speak. Most of the 'outsider' studios like Disney India have shut shop or merged with Indian companies, while YRF still stands tall.

There is also mention of how Uday Chopra failed to make an impression as an actor, though a significant footage was given to how 'good' he was as Ali in Dhoom. But then, the episode begins with Aditya Chopra sharing his views on nepotism, so can't say we haven't been warned.

The final episode has Aditya Chopra recall the lows YRF went through after a spate of flops before he took up direction again and made Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi that gave us Anushka Sharma. Yes, he also discusses the failure of his last directorial Befikre, and he is quite heartbroken about that. Hope after Pathaan's success, he returns to directing SRK in another film soon enough.

It is then the show suddenly remembered the reason that people like me have checked the series, and returns to Yash Chopra and his swansong Jab Tak Hai Jaan. That gives a predictable emotional heft to show's conclusion, though I am a little hurting that Veer Zara never came into the discussions much. Does it have to do with the fact that it deals with a cross-border love story and the present political situ isn't favourable for anyone to talk about the film?

Final Thoughts

While Yash Chopra is revered, The Romantics is more about playing a loving tribute to legacy of YRF Films, decoding the ingenuity of its present boss while bringing him out of elusivity (with much back slapping) and some very starry nostalgia. Watch the four-episode series if you adore the cinema made by the father-son duo, or are a big DDLJ fan, and if nothing else, there is always Shah Rukh Khan pitching in for the rescue. The Romantics is streaming on Netflix.

Rating:3.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 14, 2023 08:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).