Filmmaker’s ‘Yaadein’ celebrates 25th anniversary Subhash Gay A look back at the making of the 2001 family drama reveals how Hrithik RoshanThe meteoric rise that followed Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai changed the film in unexpected ways. Gay also talked about how a marketing mismatch affected audience expectations despite the film’s emotional core. Looking back at the inspiration behind ‘Yaadein’, Ghai said he deliberately chose a different genre after the success of ‘Taal’. Rather than telling another great entertainer, he wanted to tell a touching story centered on a father and his three daughters.In an interview with Variety India, he shared, “I have a habit of making a different kind of film after a success. After doing Saudagar, Khalnayak, Pardes and Taal, I wanted to tell a story about a father and his three daughters and his responsibility in getting them married. I always try to do something different for every film. So, I wanted to make a small film after ‘Taal’ starring Jackie Shroff and three new girls.“
Hrithik Roshan joined before he became a superstar
Ghai revealed that Hrithik Roshan joined the team before “Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai” became a huge success. The filmmakers were initially hesitant as the actor had a limited role in Aden, but Hrithik agreed after getting to know the script.“When I announced the film, filmmaker Rakesh Roshan met me at a party and asked me to cast his son Hrithik. I had seen the sizzling scenes of ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’ and was impressed, but I told him that my role in ‘Aden’ was limited. Since he plays the lead in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, I asked him to decide if he would like to play a supporting role in my film. I explained the role and told him he would only appear in the second half. Hrithik agreed to do so.
Kareena Kapoor Accept unconventional roles
Kareena Kapoor also surprised Gay with her willingness to be part of an ensemble rather than a traditional heroine-centric role.“I met Kareena at a party. She told me that she was shooting for JP Dutta’s Refugee and she wanted to work with me. She said she would love to be one of three girls. I liked that both Hrithik and Kareena were very professional in this regard, so I signed them at a cheap fee in my Bandra office. That night, I got calls from Kareena’s mother Babitaji and Hrithik’s mother Pinkaji; both were delighted that I had signed their children. I told them beforehand not to get too excited as Yaadein is not a hero-heroine film. “
Overnight fame forces major script changes
According to Ghai, everything has changed since Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai made Hrithik famous overnight. The unexpected star power prompted the team to revisit the script and expand his character’s profile.“Hrithik became a big star with ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’ and that changed overnight. I had already shot with him and our team was worried as his role was restricted to the second half of ‘Yaadein’. We discussed this with the writers and decided that we had to retain his stardom in the film while still keeping the core story of a father and three daughters intact. That’s why we rewrote the script and brought him into the first half as well. To their credit, both Hrithik and Kareena collaborated. By the time I finished Yaadein, which was a fairly modified version of the original script, I could see that I was walking a dangerous line. “
Marketing creates different audience expectations
Gay believes the promotional campaign inadvertently positioned the film as a romantic drama, while the emotional focus was elsewhere.“I told my publicist to position ‘Aden’ as a father-daughter story and not a love story between Hrithik and Kareena. But the publicists created three posters, two of which were of the father and daughter and one of Hrithik and Kareena. Naturally, the publisher only released the poster of Hrithik-Kareena. As a result, the audience was expecting a love story, but instead saw a movie about a father and his three daughters. Due to this mismatch, the film initially suffered in India, although it did well overseas. Domestically, it will take some time to recoup the cost. “
Looking back with no regrets
Despite the challenges, Guy believes each film has its own journey and destiny. He admits it wasn’t easy balancing Hrithik’s newfound stardom with the original narrative, but he remains proud of the end result.“We had to make him the star of the movie, otherwise the audience would be disappointed. It was a tricky situation, so we tried our best to change the script. Every movie has its own destiny. As a filmmaker, you just have to be true to the story. I’m proud of “Yaadein” and the fact that its title song is still remembered today. “
Brand integration also comes under scrutiny
The filmmaker also responded to criticism of product placement in the film, explaining that despite receiving dozens of offers, only a handful of brands were ultimately included.“I had done brand integration in ‘Taal’. For ‘Yaadein’ we had 46 brands to choose from and I used only five or six. The problem was that when the script slowed down, the audience started noticing these things. No one noticed the placement of Coca-Cola in ‘Taal’ because the script slowed down. We paid a lot of money for it at that time. Every decision has a reason behind it and you only know once that it will turn out right.”“
