Aditya Chopra makes romance answer to the family, and we like him most when the lovers get room to enjoy each other's company. His patience with parental objections gives the courtship weight, but can also make it drag.
Fi1m perspective
In Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan make falling in love look easier than getting permission. Aditya Chopra gives their courtship room for humour, then keeps returning to what the couple owe their parents. We were moved by their affection when he let them enjoy each other's company without another discussion of duty. It is a good romantic musical, though the broad comedy and prolonged family negotiations make it a more tiring evening than it needs to be.
As its writer and director, Chopra takes the parents' fears seriously. He wants youthful independence to be possible without treating the older generation as fools who need to get out of the way. That gives the romance a useful difficulty: the lovers have obligations that do not disappear because they have found each other. But once we understand those obligations, we need the film to trust its central couple and get on with things.
Mohabbatein (2000) continued with musical romance; Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) moved towards ordinary middle-class romance and gave Khan an alter ego. Songs are central to Chopra's method, carrying their own small stories and giving characters room to express feelings. Khan's ability to combine charm with vulnerability makes him an effective partner in this, as both the debut and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi demonstrate. The latter's credibility gaps also suggest a limit: asking us to accept romantic make-believe is easier when the people remain convincing.
From the mid-2000s, producing and studio leadership at Yash Raj Films increasingly took precedence over directing. He returned with the Paris-set Befikre (2016), but the later work has drawn criticism for recycling familiar romantic formulas. Our reservation about the debut is simpler: Chopra already has two actors worth watching together, and too often makes us wait for them. Start with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, and be prepared to give the family discussions more patience than we could always muster.
Biography
Aditya Chopra is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and studio executive. He is the chairman of Yash Raj Films.
He began working in the industry as an assistant director to his father Yash Chopra on films including Chandni (1989), Lamhe (1991) and Darr (1993). Chopra made his directorial debut at the age of 23 with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), for which he also wrote the story and screenplay.
His other directorial credits include Mohabbatein (2000), Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and Befikre (2016). As a producer he has overseen numerous commercial successes. He is married to actress Rani Mukerji.
