Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha made a major blooper at the unveiling of late filmmaker Yash Chopra’s statue on Monday, when he referred to Rani Mukherjee as Rani Chopra, in a mistake likely to spark fresh rumours about the actress’s relationship status with Yash Raj Films (YRF) scion Aditya Chopra.
While mentioning the entire Chopra family during a speech, Shatrughan said: “Yash Chopra, Pamela Chopra, Uday Chopra, Rani... just now my wife said I missed out on Aditya Chopra. When I am taking Rani Chopra’s name, then it is obvious that I am taking Aditya Chopra’s name as well.”
Mukherjee was left silent, covering her mouth in apparent shock.
Rumours have been rife that the 34-year-old shares a close bond with Aditya and that she was the reason behind his 2009 divorce — and that the pair tied the knot privately in 2012. Neither of them has confirmed their relationship.
When photographers requested Chopra’s widow Pamela to pose for a picture alongside the statue with Rani in the same frame, she politely gestured and refused.
Mukherjee became very emotional at the event. “I would like to thank UTV for this. It’s a great moment for all the people who loved Yash uncle and the people who are associated with the family. We will all miss him,” a visibly teary-eyed Mukherjee told reporters.
The statue will be installed at Walk of the Stars in Bandra Bandstand Promenade on Friday.
“Yashji was a dreamer. He was a man who didn’t just make romantic movies or romanced cinema, he romanced life, with love as the most important ingredient,” said Pamela.
“Yashji understood the ever evolving nature of love, and brought alive its multiple facets on the silver screen during his career spanning over 60 years. Yash Chopra has been, is and shall always be the King of Romance in my life and in the lives of his fans,” she added.
Chopra directed 22 films in his lifetime, including iconic titles such as Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie, Trishul, Lamhe, Chandni, Veer-Zaara and Dil To Pagal Hai. His swan song was Jab Tak Hai Jaan that released after his death.
He died on October 21 last year, aged 80.
Walk of the Stars was launched early last year with the felicitation of the Kapoor family — tiles bearing the respective handprints of Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor were installed. Brass statues of Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor were also installed.
Dev Anand’s statue was also installed at the walk on his first death anniversary.
