Kapil Chopra, with brother Abhay, on tumultuous times, suspense thrillers with alternate endings, and the promises tomorrow holds
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 30, 2017)

Sitting comfortably in a living room crowded with mementoes and memories, BR Chopra’s grandsons and Ravi Chopra’s sons, Kapil aka Juno and Abhay Chopra, revive childhood memories, discuss epic battles and tell us why Ittefaq happened. Excerpts from the interview…

What do you remember of the original Ittefaq?
KAPIL: I saw it as a kid on DVD and I remember Nanda running in a blue saree (laughs). I’d loved the concept even then and the fact that it was a songless thriller.
ABHAY: Yeah, it was way ahead of its time, reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock and was such a departure from Yash uncle’s later films.

The film was produced by your granddad, B R Chopra, directed by his brother, Yash Chopra, and your father, Ravi Chopra, was an AD on it. Quite the family plot, right?
ABHAY: In the scene where the chandelier falls, dad was the one holding it and cueing the action.
KAPIL: Yash uncle and dad were more friends than chacha-bhatija. They had a bachelor pad in town and were mad about convertibles. Yash uncle visited dad regularly when he was ill, when all Yash uncle wanted to know was when dad will get back to making movies.

Did you ever imagine yourself in any other profession?
ABHAY: I was always fond of films but loving cinema as a filmmaker grew with time. It’s a tough business and you have to really love it, to want to do it. Our parents never forced it on us.
KAPIL: I did a course in marketing in the US and on my return, assisted Karan (Johar) on Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Associate director Nikkhil Advani was a taskmaster, but nobody wanted to go home. (Laughs) I even skipped a friend’s wedding because I didn’t want to leave the office even though we were actually not doing much.

Tell us about your grandfather?
ABHAY: When I was studying in film school, I’d send mom my scripts. She would read them out to him and he’d send them back with valid comments.
KAPIL: He really spoilt us and regaled us with stories like how he got Rs 6 lakh to shoot an episode of Mahabharat when it actually cost Rs 8 lakh. When dad pointed out that they were losing Rs 2 lakh on every episode he told him, “Just do this well, phir humari pidhiyan khayengi.” It’s true, Mahabharat is still earning us money and was our saviour in bad times. My grandfather taught us never to run after money but focus on content that would make us proud.

Your association with Shah Rukh Khan grew through Bhoothnath and its sequel and now he has co-produced Ittefaq.
KAPIL: He’s been a pillar of support, when dad was really ill, he came home and offered to help. We owe him a lot. Ittefaq would not have been made without Shah Rukh.

Who else helped you weather the tumultuous times?
ABHAY: Mom (Renu Chopra), she’s very strong…
KAPIL: And always positive. I get stressed out easily but Abhay always calms me down, saying, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.” In these last four years, we’ve grown as a family. When I didn’t want to burden mom, I shared my problems with my brother.

Is the financial crunch behind you now?
KAPIL: We are limping back. But after this, I’ll never be scared of not having money again.

What support did you receive from Aditya Chopra?
KAPIL: Adi was very supportive during Bareilly Ki Barfi. And we began shooting Ittefaq at his studio and wrapped it there with the song “Raat Baaki.” The studio was booked solid but Adi worked it out saying he’d love for us to return.

In these days of social media how will you keep the suspense under wraps?
KAPIL: We have shot alternate endings and except for the cast, director and the producers, nobody knows what the actual ending is. We are running the ‘No spoiler campaign’ requesting people to keep the secret.

BR Chopra’s repertoire includes fi lms like Nikaah which is relevant today in the wake of the Supreme Court judgement on triple talaq and Insaf Ka Tarazu given the #Metoo campaign. Any more remakes in store?
ABHAY: We are blessed to have a library of films but even Ittefaq is not a copy. As long as you find a new way to tell an old story, it’s fine.
KAPIL: Karan (Johar) and I were recently discussing a remake of Pati Patni Aur Woh. We’d like to do more remakes and adaptations, but also put out original content. In January, we roll with a road trip film which Nitin Kakkar will direct. Fawad Khan had given the nod to it earlier but now we are looking for another actor.

Kapil Chopra on reviving grandfather BR Chopra’s banner and the ‘Barfi’ delicacy
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 15, 2017)

Kapil aka Juno Chopra, son of late filmmaker Ravi Chopra who gave Indian television the magnum opus epic series, Mahabharat, is ready to roll with three films after home production Bareilly Ki Barfi, which hits screens this Friday, and the Ittefaq remake, which releases on November 3.

Admitting that he’s still taking “baby steps” in reviving his grandfather BR Chopra’s legacy and banner, the 37-year-old producer recalls how Shah Rukh Khan had once advised him on how to choose films he wanted to bankroll. “He told me, ‘Always make films that you truly believe in and would want to attach your name to.’ I made that my motto. Today, I’m a hands-on producer. I sit with the writers and work with them. I like to listen to everyone but do what I want to,” he laughs, adding that the upcoming slate of three films will cut across genres and will be high on content. “We’ll make announcements shortly. In Hollywood, there are tent-pole superhero films, sci-fi dramas and offbeat fare. India too is steering towards the consensus that content is king. And that’s the only thing I’m keeping in mind while green-lighting a script.”

So, two years ago, when Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, who was waiting for her directorial debut, the Swara Bhaskar-starrer Nil Battey Sannata, to hit screens, came to Juno with a story she loved, he decided to read the French novel that had a line that inspired the movie. “We’d worked with Nitesh Tiwari (Ashwiny’s filmmaker husband) in our earlier production Bhoothnath Returns and I’d told her that she was meant to be a director. Once we saw the script Nitesh and Shreyas Jain had penned, there was no going back and I decided to produce Bareilly Ki Barfi,” he recalls, adding that the lead trio Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Sanon, were always the first choices for the film.

Juno laughs at the thought that he and his filmmaker-brother, Abhay Chopra, who is also directing Ittefaq, featuring Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha and Akshaye Khanna, are at loggerheads when it comes to the final casting. He admits that even though the siblings, along with their mom, Renu Chopra, argue endlessly until they reach an agreement, nothing is green-lit before they give their nod. “When we began casting for Ittefaq, all of us knew we wanted Akshaye as Rajan Kumar. Sidharth as Vikram and Sonakshi as Maya were also our first choices and luckily both of them loved the script. We’ve wrapped up the film and it’s been a fun ride,” he says, adding that he has reunited with Rajkummar who will be seen as Dr Pratap Mehta in the remake.

The filmmaker harks back to the time when the family was hit by a rough patch, saying it brought them closer. “My dad was unwell and as a family, we were going through a bad time, but circumstances made us a stronger unit. Today, we understand each other and work towards a sole aim of seeing our banner fly high. We have our differences but are open-minded,” he smiles.