'The Romantics’ director Smriti Mundhra recalls her ‘incredible’ interview with Rishi Kapoor

Rishi Kapoor. Pic/Yogen Shah

Indian-American filmmaker Smriti Mundhra, on Thursday, said that she was grateful that she was able to get the interview with Rishi Kapoor for her Netflix docu-series 'The Romantics'.

'The Romantics' will showcase the last interview of the iconic star, Rishi Kapoor who will be seen candidly talking about his deep relationship with Yash Chopra and what made their combination one of the most cherished director-actor duos of India.

"It was an incredible interview. He (Rishi Kapoor) was really excited to talk about his journey and experience with Yash Ji. He also shared his perspective on his bond as a director-actor duo in Hindi cinema," Smriti told ANI.

"Rishi Kapoor was not only an iconic actor, he carried with him an encyclopedic knowledge of the Hindi film industry. On the day of our interview, which would be his last, he was characteristically charming, erudite, and eager to reminisce. His death represents the loss of a significant piece of cinema history, and I'll forever be grateful for the insights, anecdotes and perspective he shared," she had earlier said.

Rishi Kapoor had closely collaborated with Yash Chopra and then Aditya Chopra in cult hits like 'Kabhi Kabhie', 'Chandni', 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan' (in which he was paired with his wife Neetu Kapoor), 'Fanaa', 'Hum Tum', etc.

'The Romantics' is a four-part Netflix GLOBAL docu-series that is a tribute to Yash Chopra, who is regarded as the 'Father of Romance' in India because of his iconic romantic films like 'Silsila', 'Lamhe', 'Kabhi Kabhie', 'Veer-Zaara', 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai', 'Chandni', 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan', etc.

Smriti spent a great deal of time before she started filming this documentary. She was in India and researched on the history of Yash Raj Films before shooting the documentary.

She interviewed 35 leading personalities from the Hindi film industry, including mega-stars like Aamir Khan to Salman Khan, from Shah Rukh Khan to Ranbir Kapoor, from Amitabh Bachchan to Ranveer Singh, from Rani Mukerji to Hrithik Roshan, from Katrina Kaif to Anushka Sharma, who have worked with the production house over the past 50 years.

Also Read: Hat-trick for The Romantics

She also managed to convince Aditya Chopra for his first-ever video interview which sure must have been a mammoth task. It also traces back on how Aditya always wanted to be a filmmaker, how he assisted Yash Chopra on many films before he made his debut as a director with DDLJ and how he had a sharp acumen for film-making. Aditya Chopra's last interview was in 1995 for a film magazine (print).

The docu-series will release on Feb 14 - as a mark of tribute to the father of romance - Yash Chopra. The global docu-series will be available for people to watch in 192 countries!

Rishi Kapoor passed away on April 30, 2020, after battling cancer for two years.

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