There are directors who cast stars, and then there was Yash Chopra who showcased them in a new light.
Notably the legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra was renowned for taking established stars and presenting them in a new light, often subverting their established screen personas rather than just using their popularity.
*Rajesh Khanna
In his directorial “Ittefaq” and “Daag” Yash Chopra stripped the reigning superstar of his romantic songs and glamour focussing on acting and allowed his persona to “fracture” into morally conflicted roles.
*Dev Anand In his :Joshila”, he moved him away from his “breezy romantic swagger” into a “morally shaded space”.
*Shah Rukh Khan
In his directorial film “Darr” Yash Chopra transformed him from a romantic hero into an obsessive, vulnerable antagonist, which emerged as a turning point in his career.
*Pran
In his various films the filmmaker shifted him from a despised villain to a warm, respected character actor.
Yash Chopra’s, and particularly his collaboration with his son Aditya Chopra’s, ability to “re-imagine” actors meant they focused on “emotional richness” rather than just the star’s, providing a “new look” or a more complex, “layered” portrayal. With Dev Anand, his collaboration was brief but intriguing. Joshila released in 1973 placed Dev Anand in a morally shaded space, a departure from the breezy romantic swagger he was acknowledged for, and Yash framed him not as the eternal charmer but as a man negotiating guilt and grey zones.
It was a subtle shift, but unmistakable. With Rajesh Khanna, the equation ran deeper. Ittefaq in 1969 stripped Khanna of songs and glamour entirely, a taut, almost theatrical thriller where performance carried everything, no violins to cushion emotion. Then came Daag in 1973, where Yash allowed the superstar to fracture, to love twice, to live inside moral conflict without losing audience sympathy. One director, two legends, and notice the pattern, Yash never amplified their stardom, he complicated it. Dev’s charm became shadowed, Rajesh’s romance became burdened. That was Yash Chopra’s quiet genius. Tell me, which of these collaborations do you think revealed more of the man behind the myth?
News Edit KV Raman
