Waiting for tonight when DDLJ airs again on TV ... and we get CNWK with the entire DDLJ cast.
Till then, some snippets as BW celebrates this iconic movie.
Till then, some snippets as BW celebrates this iconic movie.
Meet Keshav Naidu, editor of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
MEHUL S. THAKKAR | December 12, 2014, 00.12 am IST
Keshav Naidu who worked with Aditya Chopra for DDLJ admits that when he first laid his eyes on the footage of the first schedule of the film, he knew it was going to be historic
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge tops many a list of Bollywood romance flicks and holds the record for being the second longest running film in the world. But statistics aside, for filmi buffs, the film is the epitome of on-screen romance and quotable quotes. While the stars are clearly the face of the film, a gargantuan effort was made by the editor to compress the best elements of the movie and present it in the best way possible.
Keshav Naidu was in his 40s when he worked with Aditya Chopra for DDLJ. He admits that when he first laid his eyes on the footage of the first schedule of the film, he knew it was going to be historic. "The day I saw the footage, I was like this film is history in the making. Of all the directors I have worked with in the industry, Aditya is the easiest man to work with. He was very clear headed; no hassles and we could work very smoothly. He knew what he wanted so the decision was taken very quickly.
The work was fast-paced and for a first film of a new director, I think it was brilliant," recollects Keshav, while adjusting his black-framed spectacles and trying to recollect every moment of that time.That Aditya had a very clear idea of how he wanted the film to be and eventually turn out, helped Keshav in putting together the masterpiece of a film. "It's a well crafted screenplay; everything is well knit that there is nothing much you can do beyond the director's vision. Any other person in my place would have done the same thing. The film will always be remembered for the performances of Shah Rukh and Kajol. This one scene where they are parting away after the tour at the railway station, she talks about her impending wedding and asks if he would attend. Shah Rukh just says Mein Nahi Aaunga'. That is a world-class scene and till date I have not seen a scene so powerful."
While reams have been written about the super success of the film, not many know that the film actually did take up as many reams, quite literally. The unedited footage of DDLJ went up to 1.5 lakh feet. The final print was as long as 16,000 feet. A total 18 movie reels were used for the shoot, which isn't much for a debutant considering most senior directors would end up consuming more than 21 reels. Keshav lets out that Yash Chopra had imported an 8-plate Steenbeck editing table, the only one of its kind in the industry at that time. Even Yashraj had, until then, worked on a six-plate one.
Given that the film went on to become a blockbuster in the pre-'100-crore club era, we ask him what his remuneration was back then. He smiles and without hesitation says, "I was paid Rs2.5 lakhs. In those days the standard of living was not too high... toh chal jaata tha."
While Keshav assisted Aditya in his debut film, it wasn't his first stint with the Chopras. He started his career by doing odd jobs at a film lab in Worli, which had long rows of editing rooms. He came in contact with many ad filmmakers; directors who always needed technical help in the final stages. He helped filmmaker Chetan Anand in one of his films and later bagged the job of an editor for the Rajesh Khanna-starrer Kudrat.
"During the mixing of this film at Raj Kamal Studios, Mangesh Desai (re-recordist of Deewar) saw my enthusiasm and liked my work. At that time Yash Raj Films was looking for an editor and he recommended by name to Yash Chopra. So I joined them. At that time he was making Silsila." The rest, as they say, is history. Little did Keshav know what a role he'd have in shaping cinematic history.
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A picture worth a 1,000 weeks
DC CORRESPONDENT | December 12, 2014, 00.12 am IST
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge completes a historic 1,000-week run at the Maratha Mandir today
A leading news magazine describes 1995 as the year "the Shiv Sena came to power in Maharashtra, Bombay became Mumbai and Mayawati became Uttar Pradesh's first Dalit chief minister". The round up of that year's major news events also included a match-fixing controversy involving Shane Warne, the Charar-E-Sharief shrine in Kashmir being torched, Amitabh Bachchan's ABCL being launched and the Enron project scrapped, the death of Ranjan Pillai, Gary Kasparov's win over Viswananthan Anand at the PCA World Chess Championships, and the controversy Madhu Sapre-Milind Soman courted by posing in the nude for a shoe ad.
There was also this headline among all the others: "DDLJ is a smash hit". For Bollywood, 1994 was the year of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun: Joint families were cool, as were family values and endless rounds of antakshari. The next year's Bollywood releases would include Bombay, Rangeela, Coolie No. 1, Karan Arjun, Raja, Sabse Bada Khiladi and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. The film was an immediate phenomenon. News reports at the time estimated that the film would go on to do a business of about Rs 50 crores a landmark amount in the days before the 100-crore club was created. Ultimately, it would go on to earn Rs106 crores in India and about '16 crore in the US. It would also win 10 Filmfare Awards and a National Award.
As it completes a 1,000-week run at the Maratha Mandir theatre today, the longest running film in Indian cinema, we look at what made the film special. What was it about DDLJ that drew so many people to the theatres? Was it the Raj-Simran romance and how we rooted for it to work out? Was it the glimpses of Europe in the pre-Internet, fully globalised era- that seduced us, even as the film reiterated that there was no place like home? Was it the music or the dialogues or the story or a combination of all three? DDLJ stuck to many Bollywood tropes, established a few, overturned many others. And somehow, in doing all this, it managed to make us do just what its tagline asked: "Come... Fall In Love".
dia,if u watch CNWK,do provide a WU,if possible like ur daily takes.wud love to read it.i wont be able to catch it on tv tonight.btw,i luv ddlj too and srk-kajol is my fav jodi.hope they come together in a strong movie like KKHH/DDLJ.
ReplyDeleteratna.
Hi Ratna!
DeleteI have guests the next few days so I will record both the CNWK episodes and watch later ... will give a written update when I do :)
Should have known ... the days I have something to watch on TV, are the days I am crazily busy ... I had to record the Mirchi Top 20 too, for Sanaya's performance. Will watch all later.