Chandni (film)
Chandni () is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed and co-produced by Yash Chopra from a story written by Kamna Chandra with a screenplay by Umesh Kalbagh, Arun Kaul, and Sagar Sarhadi. The film stars Sridevi in the titular role of Chandni Mathur, a young effervescent woman torn between two suitors. Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Waheeda Rehman Anupam Kher, Sushma Seth, Mita Vashisht, and Manohar Singh are featured in supporting roles. The eighties marked a professional setback in Chopra's career, After a series of failed action movies, Chopra decided to return to his roots  and make a romantic musical, a film with all the hallmarks of what has come to be known as the "Yash Chopra style" – heroine-oriented, romantic, emotional, depicting the lifestyle of the super-elite, with melodic music used in songs picturized in foreign locations. The film marked the first collaboration between Chopra and Sridevi. "Chandni" was theatrically released on 14 September 1989 by Yash Raj Films. The film was a widespread success and became one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 1989, whereas its soundtrack became the best selling album of the year as well as the decade with  more than 10 million copies sold. The huge success of the film and its soundtrack were instrumental in ending the era of violent action films in Indian Cinema and rejuvenating the romantic musical genre. The success of film further reinforced Sridevi's position as the top female star of the era. Over the years, "Chandni" is hailed as one of Chopra's finest movies. At the 37th National Film Awards, it won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, while at the 35th Filmfare Awards, the film received 10 nominations, including for the Best Film, Best Director (for Chopra), and Best  Actress (for Sridevi), and won Best Cinematography. Plot. Rohit Gupta falls in love at first sight with a beautiful Chandni Mathur who accepts him. They eventually get engaged, though the Guptas dislike Chandni due to difference in their social status. Later, Rohit gets paralyzed on right leg after facing an brutual accident. The Guptas blame Chandni. Thinking he cannot be a good husband, Rohit lets Chandni go. Heartbroken, she finds work at a travel agency in Bombay. Lalit Khanna, its handsome and charming head, falls for and asks Chandni to marry him. She is hesitant. 2 years later. Chandni  now agrees to marry Lalit and meets his mom Lata, who is also glad with her. In Switzerland, Lalit meets Rohit who is still receiving treatment from professional therapists and physicians. Recovered, he befriends Lalit and they share their love-stories, unaware they both love Chandni. Back to India, he visits Lalit's house to meet him. Chandni opens the door; she and Rohit are surprised to see each other. Rohit reveals he isn't now in wheelchair. They get keyed up with tears; he seizes this chance to propose to her. However, Chandni tells Rohit that she is engaged  to Lalit. She also reminds him what Guptas did to her. He leaves regretfully. Lalit invites Rohit to his wedding as they became friends. Rohit and Chandni pretend as strangers. On the wedding day he mumbles and stumbles down a flight of stairs due to excessive drinking. Chandni cannot stop any longer, hugs him and starts crying. Lalit realises Rohit loves Chandni. In hospital, Rohit regains his health. Chandni marries him, as Lalit sacrifices his love and has a brief sad moment, as Rohit and Chandni marry and live happily ever after. Production. Speaking about the movie with Karan  Johar, Yash Chopra recalled when he was making Vijay, an action film, he did not feel like he was supposed to make movies like this. Later he met with Kamna Chandra, who was coming hot after working Raj Kapoor on Classic Prem Rog. She presented the story of a social romantic movie to Yash Chopra who liked it and started casting the stars. However, at the launch party, Yash Chopra had change of heart and he decided to change the second half in which Chandni marries with Lalit and has a son. With casting of Vinod Khanna, distributors started demanding  action sequence in the movie to which Chopra refused. Even after the movie was complete he called Sridevi and Vinodh Khanna back for one day's shoot to reshoot their first meeting. Originally there was a fire incident in which Khanna saves Sridevi. But upon watching the move Chopra said “it did not feel like part of the movie so I called the actors back for one day’s work”. Music. The music of "Chandni" was composed by Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia, known together as Shiv-Hari. The lyrics were provided by Anand Bakshi. In addition to the  songs listed below, there was a recurring instrumental love melody, not part of a full song. That melody was further developed into the song "Kabhi Main Kahoon" for Chopra's next film "Lamhe" (1991), also scored by Shiv-Hari. The film's soundtrack was a major success in India and sold more than 10 million copies, becoming the best selling soundtrack album of the year as well as the decade. It is believed that the soundtrack helped bring back the romantic musical genre, with its songs and lyrics all being critically acclaimed, along with "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak" (1988) and  Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). According to Yash Raj Films, the soundtrack went 4× Platinum by the day of the premiere. By the 25th week, it went 25× Platinum, a new standard in the music industry. Reception & Legacy. "Chandni" received highly positive reviews upon its release with critics highlighting the film's impact in being instrumental in bringing an end to an era of violent action movies in Indian cinema and rejuvenating the romantic musical genre. According to "iDiva", "Chandni" was "more an event and less a movie. Even as its shooting rolled on the sets, the film was a constant  subject of discussion in the press." "Chandni" emerged as one of the biggest blockbusters of 1989, with "The Hindu" stating that "the film opened to full houses and distributors had to drastically increase the number of theatres."' It was cited by "Times of India" as "one of the most-watched films of Indian Cinema." "Hindustan Times" featured the movie in its list of 'Yash Chopra's Greatest Hits' saying "it was instrumental in ending the era of violence in Bollywood and bringing back the romance into Hindi films." The film consolidated Sridevi's position as the top female star of  the era. Describing Sridevi's performance in "Chandni", "Indiatimes" wrote "True to her screen-name, she was an epitome of radiance, warmth and vivacity. She effortlessly introduced us to the powerful streaks, her classic, angelic character was laden with." The scene where she confronts Rishi Kapoor was ranked by "Rediff" as one of the "Ten Best Scenes from Yash Chopra Films." While Sridevi topped the "Hindustan Times"' list of Yash Chopra's "Top 5 Heroines", "CNN-IBN" ranked her no. 1 on its list of 'Yash Chopra's 10 Most Sensuous Heroines', saying that "Yash Chopra immortalized Sridevi as the  perfect "Chandni"." The titular character became one of the most famous characters of Hindi cinema with "India Today" including it in its list of 'Yash Chopra's Iconic Characters'. "CNN-IBN" listed it among 'The Cult Characters Yash Chopra Created', while "NDTV" featured it in its list of 'Yash Chopra's Greatest Creations' stating that the film established Sridevi "as the nation's sweetheart" and "reinforced her position as the reigning actress in Bollywood." Costume design in the film was done by Bhanu Athaiya and Leena Daru. Sridevi's iconic '"Chandni" Look' revolutionized fashion in North India and became synonymous  with the actress, with "Rediff" stating "A luminous Sridevi slips into every possible design in white for a major chunk of the romance and no one complains." Speaking about the look, Yash Chopra told film critic Rajeev Masand "While making "Chandni", I had a vision of who I wanted this girl to be. I told Sridevi that most of her costumes in the film would be in white." "The Tribune" wrote "Leena Daru scored a winner again when she created the Chandni" Look' for Sridevi. Every street corner sold the salwar-kameez and dupatta that gave the heroine a refreshingly  understated look, rarely seen on the Indian screen." while "Mid-Day" reported "Leena Daru dressed Bollywood's beauties for several years. But it was her simple white churidar and kurta with the "leheriya" dupatta for Sridevi in "Chandni" that gave the Southern belle an angelic image and caused the Chandni Chowk stores to hit the jackpot with thousands of copies." "BizAsia" described the effect of the look saying "Chopra never quite got over his Sridevi hangover and almost always chose to present his lead heroines in similar outfits (Juhi Chawla in "Darr" (1993), Madhuri Dixit in "Dil To Pagal Hai  (1997), Preity Zinta in Veer-Zaara" (2004)), but none of them became half as iconic as Sridevi did after "Chandni"." The '""'Chandni" Look' was also highlighted in the film's famous Tandav dance sequence by Sridevi, where "Rediff" said "the actress transformed into a mythical goddess in a white number." Sridevi's chiffon sarees became equally popular with "Indian Express" writing "This film made the chiffon sari a must-have in every Indian woman's wardrobe." The music of "Chandni" became a multi-platinum success with Sridevi's famous dance number "Mere Haathon Mein Nau Nau Choodiyan Hain" finding a  place in "Rediff"'s chart of 'Bollywood's Top 25 Wedding Songs'. Sridevi also lent her voice to the film's popular title-track "Chandni O Meri Chandni" which featured among the 'Top 5 Songs' of Yash Chopra by "Hindustan Times". Talking about her role in "Chandni", Sridevi said it was "a lively and vibrant girl in the first half (who) becomes quiet and goes into a shell in the second half. I loved that transformation and when you have a director like Yash Chopra at the helm, you can be sure that he will make the best out of  everything." Nominations