Retro Review: Chandni

This week, BollyCurry brings to you a retro review of a movie made by the late director, Yash Raj Chopra, fondly known as the "King of Romance", called Chandni. Starring the talented Rishi Kapoor and the finest female star of her time, Sridevi, the film celebrates it's 24th anniversary this year. Released on September 14th, 1989, Chandni is one of Bollywood's most successful movies.

The plot of the film revolves around Rohit (Rishi Kapoor) who meets Chandni (Sridevi Kapoor) at a mutual friend's wedding in New Delhi and instantly falls in love with her. Followed by a few struggles, Rohit manages to convince Chandni to spend time with him, which eventually leads to their engagement, despite the objections from Rohit's family. One evening, Rohit calls Chandni to come to her terrace and wait for him. He appears there on a helicopter, showering her with rose petals. A few moments later, he disappears and Chandni receives a call informing her of Rohit's accident. She reaches the hospital to face accusations on herself for being the reason behind Rohit's fall from the helicopter. Rohit becomes paralyzed on the right side of his body, making his family, including himself, humiliate Chandni to the extent that she ends up leaving for Mumbai. There, she starts working for a young man, Lalit (Vinod Khanna), who also happens to fall in love with her, and asks her to marry him; she accepts Lalit's proposal. Destiny brings Rohit and Chandni face to face once again because of Lalit and Rohit's newly formed friendship during one of their trips to Switzerland.  

The film ends on a happy note once Lalit realizes where Chandni's heart truly belongs and her sets her free to be with Rohit. 

The film is a complete Yash Chopra package from music, to great set locations, to beautiful dresses worn by Sridevi. One of the most memorable things about this movie is the song "Mere Haathon Mein Nau Nau Choodiyan Hain", which is still enjoyed and danced upon till date; and shall remain a classic for years to come.

• Chandni was nominated in seven Filmfare award categories for the year it was released.
• That same year, Manmohan Singh bagged the Filmfare Best Cinematography Award for Chandni. 
  
• Yash Chopra took his son's (Aditya Chopra) directorial assistance in this movie in order to help him gain experience for his directorial debut, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.
  
• The director claimed to have a tragic ending to the film initially, which was later on changed to a happy one.