As ‘Yaadein’ has completed 25 years, a filmmaker Subhash Ghai looks back on the making of the 2001 family drama, and reveals how Hrithik Roshan‘The meteoric rise after ‘Kaho Naa … Pyaar Hai’ changed the film in unexpected ways. Ghai also talked about how inconsistencies in marketing affected the expectations of the audience despite the film’s critical success. Recalling the inspiration behind ‘Yaadein’, Ghai said he deliberately chose a different genre after the success of ‘Taal’. Instead of a big entertainer, he wanted to tell a heartfelt story about a father and his three daughters.Speaking to Variety India, he shared, “I have a tendency to do some kind of film after a hit. After making ‘Saudagar’, ‘Khalnayak’, ‘Pardes’, and ‘Taal’, I wanted to tell the story of a father and three daughters, and his duty to get them married. I always try to do something different with every film. So, I decided to make a small film after ‘Taal’, with Jackie Shroff and three new girls.“
Hrithik Roshan joined before he became a star
Ghai revealed that Hrithik Roshan boarded “Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai” before it won. The producer of the film was initially skeptical as the work of the ‘Yaadein’ actors was limited, but Hrithik agreed after understanding the script.“Around the time I announced the film, the filmmaker Rakesh Roshan met me at a party and asked me to cast his son, Hrithik. I saw the run of ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’, and I was interested, but I told him that I only had a small part in ‘Yaadein’. Rakesh sent Hrithik to meet me the next day. When I told him that ‘she was the daughter of Yaadein’ three. Since he was the lead in ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’, I left it to him if he would like to play someone else in my film. I explained the role to him and told him that he will appear in the second half only. Hrithik agreed to it.”
Kareena Kapoor he accepted a non-traditional role
Kareena Kapoor also surprised Ghai with her willingness to be with them instead of being a normal heroine.“I met Kareena at a party. She told me she was doing JP Dutta’s ‘Refugee’ and wanted to work with me too. She said she was fine being one of the three girls. I liked that both Hrithik and Kareena were experts in this field, so I signed both of them at my Bandra office for a small fee. That evening, I received calls from Babitaji, Kareena’s mother, and Pinkieji, Hrithik’s mother; they were all happy that I had signed their children. I told them in advance not to get too excited, because ‘Yaadein’ was not a superhero film.”
The overnight success forced a major change in the script
According to Ghai, everything changed after ‘Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai’ turned Hrithik into an overnight sensation. Unexpected popularity made the team to review the visuals and expand its features.“Hrithik became a big star with ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’, and the energy changed overnight. I had already shot with him, and our team was worried because his role was limited to the second half of ‘Yaadein’. We talked to the writers and decided that we need to keep his star presence in the film and keep the main story of a father and three daughters. That’s why we rewrote the script and brought him back in the first half. The good news is that Hrithik and Kareena got along. By the time I finished ‘Yaadein’, it was well adapted from the original, and I felt that I was walking a dangerous line. “
Advertising created different expectations
Ghai believes that the marketing campaign has inadvertently positioned the film as a romantic drama, when its intentions lie elsewhere.“I told my publicist to pitch ‘Yaadein’ as a father-son story, not a love story between Hrithik and Kareena. But the publisher made three posters, two of father and daughter, and one of Hrithik and Kareena. The distributors, naturally, just pushed the Hrithik-Kareena picture. So, the audience went in expecting a love story, and instead they watched a movie about a father and his three daughters. The film initially struggled in India due to this dissension, although it did well overseas. At home, it took some time to get his money back. “
Looking back without regret
Despite the difficulties, Ghai believes that every film has its own journey and destiny. He admitted balancing Hrithik’s newfound fame with the original story wasn’t easy, but he’s proud of the end result.“We had to cast him as a star in the film, otherwise the audience would have been disappointed. It was very difficult, so we did our best and changed the plot. Every film comes with its destiny. As a filmmaker, you just have to follow the story. I’m proud of ‘Yaadein’, and that its title track is still remembered today.”
Brand integration also came under scrutiny
The producer of the movie also criticized the cast in the film, explaining that only a few genres were included even though it received a lot of advertisements.“I had already done the color combination in ‘Taal.’ as soon as you see the results.“