Filmmaker Yash Chopra’s 1989 romantic masterpiece Chandni released at a time when Bollywood was dominated by violent and action films. The Sridevi-Rishi Kapoor-Vinod Khanna starrer went on to redefine romance, fashion and music in Indian cinema. Late actor Sridevi’s chiffon sarees are still considered de rigueur for a Bollywood romantic heroine. On Chopra’s birth anniversary, I, a GenZ, watched Chandni for the first time.

Sridevi played Chandni while Rishi Kapoor was Rohit. They fall in love with each other deeply, only for the relationship to fall apart after Rohit’s tragic accident, which leaves him paralyzed. He pushes Chandni away, and she ends up meeting Lalit (Vinod Khanna) while rebuilding her life in Mumbai. After she agrees to his marriage proposal, Rohit recovers, and then asks her to choose between the love she once had and the life she has built since.

Rohit’s strange confession

The film’s opening scene has Rohit falling in love with Chandni immediately after meeting her at her friend’s wedding. In fact, within a few minutes, he decides to confess his ‘love’ to her. And that’s not the most questionable part, it’s what happens after. To express his feelings, he switches off the lights, holds Chandni’s hand forcefully, and expects her to reciprocate exactly the same way.

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A still from Chandni

Later on, another major red flag was when Chandni tries to give Rohit a chance, he rides the bike extremely rashly to make her say yes to his marriage proposal, and so that she will hold onto him. What the makers present as ‘charming persistence’ will be considered extremely problematic today and has no place in the GenZ dictionary.

The toxic obsession

Despite having watched Kabir Singh and Animal, the films which showcased obsessive behaviour and toxic romantic relationships, Chandni is actually a step ahead. In his own Bollywood way, Yash Chopra tries to make us believe that if he’s obsessed with you, he must really love you. From Rohit’s constant calls to Chandni to her pictures all over his bedroom walls, it’s hard to tell when intense love turns into unhealthy obsession. Definitely a red flag.

And, then there’s that song…

The film’s playlist, written by Anand Bakshi and composed by Shiv-Hari, is one of Chandni’s biggest plus points. Beautiful tracks like “Tere Mere Honthon Pe”, “Mere Haathon Mein Nau Nau Chudiyan” and “Chandni” lift the film, and they still reside in many hearts. But, what my generation won’t be able to digest was a particular song “Main Sasuraal Nahin Jaaungi”, on which Chandni performs in front of her would-be husband Rohit’s family.

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Some of the lyrics gave away the exaggerated idea of a bride’s entire existence being based on her marital home. If the film released today, it would have had the younger audiences asking, ‘Why is this woman’s entire personality being transferred to her sasural?’

A still from Chandni

At one point, the regressive lyrics of the song read, “Doli ko goli maaro. Maayike waapas main laut ke na aaungi. Saiyaan ji se lipat main jaungi. Suni sej sajariya sajaungi. Ho ban ke bistar main haye bichh jaungi (I will not return to my maternal home. I will embrace my husband. I will spread myself out like a bed for him).”

The language

Even the way couples address and talk to each other has changed drastically. If a GenZ came across a reel of Chandni and Rohit speaking to each other the way they did in the film, they would be startled. The casual insults in their language, like ‘Chal jaa’, ‘Saali’, left me shocked. Such way of talking wouldn’t have been tolerated today. Not to forget, Rohit’s fixation on getting into bed with Chandni was annoying. The movie continuously treats physical intimacy as a natural extension of romance.

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Having said that, what was understandable to me was that while many aspects of Yash Chopra’s Chandni may feel dated, it is still comprehensible why the late filmmaker’s romantic cinema became so influential. The fantasy world of Switzerland, flowers, chiffon, beautiful homes, dramatic storytelling and music, even got me!