The Romantics review: Aditya Chopra's terrific Netflix debut will leave you in awe of him, just like DDLJ

4/5

This documentary is a tribute to the life and work of the legendary Bollywood film director Yash Chopra. It has in-depth interviews with well-known people and clips from old films.

I was two when Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) was released. A toddler who could barely talk was taken to the theatre by her mom to watch Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol fall in love in what can now be called the cheesiest way. A germ of Bollywood kicked off in me back then, and the first memory I have of a quintessential hero is of a dimpled Shah Rukh Khan in a leather jacket spreading his arms and a girl in white running towards him to embrace him tightly. The Romantics is a gentle reminder of what a two-year-old didn't know would make a career of it.

I wasn't born when Yash Chopra made his directorial debut, but I witnessed his swan song, Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), on the big screen. The movie ends with a montage of the moments the legendary filmmaker created on the sets with the title track. The first line of the song, "Tum Se Hi Jeete Rahe, Tum Pe Hi Marte Rahe, Jab Tak Hai Jaan," is a reminder of how movies make us feel. We live for movies, and if you are a Bollywood fan, Yash Raj Films-produced films are at the heart of it.

The first episode, titled "The Boy From Jalandhar," takes us back to the days when BR Chopra ruled the film industry in the post-Independence era. His mentee was his younger brother, Yash Chopra, who saw the world in ways that his older brother did not. In quick succession, we see how in the 1970s, the rise of Amitabh Bachchan as the Angry Young Man brought a major shift in Bollywood tropes, wherein Yash Chopra played a big hand with Deewaar. As a result, Big B recalls that, despite bringing Salim-Javed's action-packed script to the screen, there was something about the filmmaker who was all about bringing more flowers on screen as well. Bachchan also reveals that within 15 days of Deewaar's shoot wrap, they started shooting Kabhi Kabhie, which is something quite unheard of when it comes to a quick genre shift for a filmmaker.

This small part of the documentary also served as a reminder that the film industry was about to see a new type of romantic movie with female characters who were completely modern. Even in today's times, female actors crave better-written characters, but Yash Chopra, back in the day, made them the driving factor of his films.

After ruling the 1970s and having a relatively dull 1980s, along with India's post-liberalisation period, films were also awaiting some kind of new era. Thus comes the second episode about "Prodigal Son" Aditya Chopra. The wait is finally over, and the ace filmmaker faces the camera and gives his first televised interview ever. It seemed like the Hindi film industry had been preparing for this very young director, who has been interested in movies since he was a child. The second episode is one of the most enjoyable of the four, with the world finally seeing what an intelligent filmmaker Aditya Chopra is and why he deserves more credit for it.

The second episode of The Romantics takes a delightful turn. Even though I knew most of the details, hearing them from the horse's mouth made the experience even better. Another reason why the second episode is my personal favourite is that it follows Shah Rukh Khan's rise from anti-hero to King of Romance. Both the titles were well crafted by Yash Raj Films itself.

The docu-series even gave me a moment to think that the series would have been incomplete without Aditya, just like the Hindi film industry would have been. The filmmaker addresses the infamous word "nepotism," and it's a funny start to the third episode, where most of the actors mention their lineage, including the Kapoors, Bachchans, and more. Furthermore, we finally get to meet the other Chopra son, Uday Chopra, and both Aditya and he is open about his failure as an actor. I won't call it a brave move, but it does put many things into perspective, including how Aditya realised that the audience wants something new, not only in terms of the story but also the actors. However, the discussion becomes slightly lengthy, and I feel slightly impatient to move on to the next topic. But you won't be distracted for sure, as it's a masterclass on how the "insiders" study the way audiences look at the cinema.

The legacy of Yash Raj Films, started with Yash Chopra and continuing with Aditya Chopra, is worth studying for how to be a game changer within the film industry without collaborating with any other studios, be they homegrown or international. They take great pride in providing the answer to the question I've always had about why they are the only ones producing YRF films.

The Romantics is a complete package and definitely gives out the answers you might be seeking in terms of storytelling. Even though it has had problems from time to time, YRF is the most popular production house in the country. It is India's answer to Warner Bros. Studios. Very rightfully, Smriti Mundhra captures it with lots of intrigues and details. The archival footage of even Yash Chopra is placed well, along with the songs in the background, which blend well with the picturization. However, the song selection dwindles towards the end, as YRF has produced better songs over the years.

My only quibble with this nearly perfect documentary is with the artists involved. Although it looked like everyone spoke, a few were left out in sharing their anecdotes about being a part of the studio. Perhaps we will see previously unseen footage of these 35 artists, just as we have seen about the YRF legacy over the years.

The Romantics is not a tribute to each and every film produced by Yash Raj Films. But it's a fitting tribute to how the studio put India on the map with its genre-defining movies and to Switzerland for its snowy locations, which have been a part of YRF movies.