The Romantics review: A perfect valentine gift from the king of celluloid romance

The Romantics review

Smriti, who returns to Netflix after the phenomenal success of Indian Matchmaking and the Never Have I Ever, reveals a passionate study of Yash Chopra camp with anecdotes and rare photographs, shoots BTS and other paraphernalia by juxtaposing the events against the economic and political landscape of India. The series features 35 leading personalities from the film industry, who have closely worked with YRF through its 50-year glorious existence, spanning the film journalists of the top league – Anupama Chopra, Tanul Thakur and Nasreen Kabir, actors who worked in the YRF stable - from Aamir Khan to Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan to Ranbir Kapoor to Ranveer Singh, Amitabh Bachchan to Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor and Anupam Kher, Rani Mukerji to Hrithik Roshan to Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif to Anushka Sharma. The actors speak so reverently about the legend and recount their personal experiences while working with him. There are countless memories that Mundhra revitalizes in the episodes which run over 50 minutes each.

Rendered as a testimonial by his wife and near and dear, Yash ji was more of a man of heart than money. ‘The Punjabi boy from Jalandhar’ was not a very good businessman , but an extraordinary filmmaker. He took failure very personally. He didn’t allow success to go into his head. His wife Pamela Chopra, who always had been a source of tremendous support and his mascot, throws some spirited nuances of his life that comprised working under the umbrella of his elder brother, Mr. BR Chopra to forming his own production house in a 10/20 room where YASH Raj was born. Romantics is an evocative and poignant memoir of this gentleman, his sensibilities that transcended the Swiss Alps and Chiffons,  and the dissection of his various films, the successes and failures, the backlashes and adulation.

The Romantics : Aditya Chopra makes a fabulous debut, meet the hidden superstar of YRF films.

But what turns out as the icing on the cake is his elder son, Aditya Chopra’s interview, much to the excitement of his friends, family, fraternity and media – Karan Johar, Abhishek, Bhumi , Ranveer and Anushka. Adi is a recluse and there are hardly any interviews or photos of public appearances. In this documentary, Smriti makes us proud with the first on-camera interview of the genius filmmaker and oh boy, that’s so fascinating! As detailed as it can be, it slips into the time when DDLJ was conceived by Adi and how he propelled it despite the staunch disapproval by the entire team.

‘DDLJ has been the defining film of our generation. It has been the defining film of our generation! I can't even tell you that feeling is still alive inside me. It Influenced the way I dressed. It influenced the way I spoke to a girl. It influenced how I was with my parents… everything!!’, says Ranbir Kapoor.

Ayushmann Khurrana yearns that every time he sees the film, he wishes to jump inside the screen and be one of the characters.

Final words

The Romantics is a warm and compelling tribute to Yash Chopra, who is regarded as the ‘Father of Romance’ in India because of his iconic romantic films like Silsila, Lamhe, Kabhi Kabhie, Veer-Zaara, Dil To Pagal Hai, Chandni, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, etc.YRF is currently at an all-time high as their latest release Pathaan, the fourth film of YRF’s Spy Universe is breaking all records at the global box office. Pathaan is now the number one Hindi film worldwide and has become the biggest all-time blockbuster in the history of Hindi cinema.

YRF is home to some of the biggest blockbusters that Indian cinema has ever witnessed like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, War, Sultan, Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Mohabbatein, and Dhoom franchise, to name a few. It has also produced landmark content forward iconic hits like Chak De! India, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Mardaani, Band Baaja Baaraat, etc.

This is a feature not to be missed by the cinephiles. I go with 4.5 stars.