Yash Chopra's wife Pamela Chopra passed away on 20 April. A playback singer, producer and writer, Pamela was last seen in the Netflix docu-series The Romantics, that delved into the legacy of Yash Raj Films.
The Romantics is a treasure trove of anecdotes about Yash Chopra, his family and his illustrious career. Here's revisiting some of the interesting stories Pamela Chopra narrated about Chopra as a person, her involvement in his movies and more.
Pamela Chopra on Why Yash Chopra Had Sleepless Nights Before Daag's Release
In an interview with Karan Johar, Yash Chopra opened up that distributors weren't convinced about his directorial Daag: A Poem of Love, which was also his first film as a producer. "He didn't sleep for many nights before the release of Daag. And then, Yash's first film was a hit. He didn't believe that his first movie was declared a hit", Pamela said in the show.
She added, "Yash was probably the most modest person in the world. If he got an award or an honour the first thing he would tell me was, 'Do you really think I deserve this?'"
'Yash Invited Me to Attend Music Sittings'
Pamela also spoke about how she attended the music sittings for Yash Chopra's films. "Music is my passion. Yash knew that and he would invite me to attend the music sittings. Slowly, I became a part of that group".
Pamela and Yash Chopra's younger son Uday says in the docu-series, "My mother had a really good sense of music and song. We have this gadda room in our house, the music room, which was specifically created for a creatively inducive environment".
"My mother and father would go through different pieces of music, trying to see what fits and what doesn't", he adds.
Veteran actor Poonam Dhillon also made an interesting point - that it was partly Pamela Chopra's idea to get Punjabi music into the movies.
'My Father Would Always Ask My Mom About The Woman's Perspective'
During the course of the conversation, Uday Chopra spoke about how Yash Chopra was always interested in Pamela's opinions. "He would always ask her, what is the woman's perspective?' I think you will see this change in his movies post marriage".
Film journalist Tanul Thakur elaborates, "Having a partner by his side who is a keen, intelligent mind, started to imbue in his films, not just with a certain kind of softness, but also with a keen awareness about the female characters".
Pamela Chopra Wrote the Story of 'Kabhi Kabhie'
The Romantics reveals that Pamela Chopra wrote the story of Kabhi Kabhie, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee, Shashi Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor in lead roles.
(This story was originally published on 15 February 2023 but has been reposted from The Quint’s archives in light of Pamela Chopra's passing.)
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