Here’s how Karan Johar paid homage to his ‘guru’ Yash Chopra
Bollywood director pens a note on filmmaker who influenced him
Ahead of the release of ‘Tum Kya Mile’, the first single from his upcoming film ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, filmmaker Karan Johar penned a heartfelt note and dedicated the song to his ‘guru’ Yash Chopra, the late Bollywood director who has left behind a legacy of Bollywood blockbusters over the decades.
Sharing a working still from the song, Johar wrote: “In a few hours #tumkyamile will be yours ... I remember at the very onset my instinct was that I wanted to film a love song that would unabashadley pay homage to my guru Yash Chopra.”
Johar added: “The thinking evolved mind would say ‘you can’t match it or even dare to emulate it’, but the fan boy and the ardent lover of snow, chiffons, the stunning locations of Kashmir and sheer romance got the better of me ...”
“Pritam Dada [music composer Pritam] and I yearned for a song for the ages from the ages and it had it be unapologetic or it wouldn’t be true ... My deepest gratitude to Vaibhavi Merchant who got the Memo better than I did and completely took charge. Being a Yash Chopra lover herself ... she gave her heart to our song ...”
Composed by Pritam, penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya and crooned by Arijit Singh, the song features Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt.
‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ is a romantic comedy family drama film directed by Karan Johar and written by Ishita Moitra, Shashank Khaitan and Sumit Roy.
Produced by Dharma Productions and Viacom18 Studios, the film also features the veteran actors Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi. It’s expected to release in theatres next month.