Life has not always been so good for Yash Chopra. There was a phase in the 1980s when all his movies seemed to bomb at the box office. He had four flops in a row: Silsila (1981), Mashaal (1984), Faasle (1985) and Vijay (1988).
"You feel down when your films don't do well, especially when you get attached to them," Chopra says, referring to his favourite movies, Silsila and Lamhe. "I could not work for six months after Lamhe released. But that doesn't mean you stop making films. You have to come out of it by having faith in God.
"A filmmaker does not make Coca Cola. He makes films. It's not like you're as good as your last film. If your last film fails, does it mean you can't make good films? Raj Kapoor made Bobby after Mera Naam Joker, which had failed. He was so down and out after Mera Naam Joker. But he never stopped making movies.
"There must be something wrong with my films, that's why the people did not like it," Chopra philosophises.
What was actually wrong was that action movies ruled at the film. For Chopra, a romantic at heart, making movies according to market dictates was tough.
"Vijay was a film full of action, which was not my style. The highlights of my films are the romantic scenes and romantic songs," Chopra says.
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