Subhash Ghai on 25 Years of ‘Yaadein’: ‘Hrithik’s Stardom Changed The Dynamics Of The Film Overnight’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Twenty-five years after its release, Subhash Ghai looks back at how “Yaadein” (2001), conceived as an intimate story of a father and his three daughters, was eclipsed by Hrithik Roshan’s overnight stardom, and how a marketing misstep nearly cost the film its identity at the box office.

What made you want to make ‘Yaadein’ after the success of Taal?

I have a habit of making a film of a different genre after delivering a hit. After making “Saudagar” (1991), “Khalnayak” (1993), “Pardes” (1997), and “Taal” (1999), I wanted to tell a story about a father and three daughters, and about his responsibility for getting them married. I always try to do something different with every film. So, I thought I’d make a small film after Taal, with Jackie Shroff and three new girls.

How did Hrithik Roshan become a part of the film?

Around the time I announced the film, filmmaker Rakesh Roshan met me at a party and asked me to cast his son, Hrithik. I saw the rushes of “Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai” (2000), and was impressed, but I told him I had only a limited role in “Yaadein.” Rakesh sent Hrithik to meet me the next day. When he came to my house, I told him “Yaadein” was about a father and three daughters. Since he was playing the main lead in “Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai,” I left it up to him whether he’d want to play a secondary character in my film. I explained the role and told him he would appear only in the second half. Hrithik agreed to do it.

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And how did Kareena Kapoor join the cast?

I met Kareena at a party. She told me she was doing JP Dutta’s “Refugee” (2000) and that she wanted to work with me too. She said she was okay being one of the three girls. I liked that both Hrithik and Kareena were so professional about it, so I signed them both at my Bandra office for a modest fee. That evening, I got calls from Babitaji, Kareena’s mother, and Pinkieji, Hrithik’s mother; both were excited that I’d signed their children. I told them upfront not to get too excited, as Yaadein was not a hero-heroine film.

Hrithik became a massive star almost overnight with ‘Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai.’ How did that change things for ‘Yaadein’?

Hrithik became a big star with “Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai,” and the dynamics changed overnight. I had already shot with him, and our team was worried because his role was confined to the second half of “Yaadein.” We discussed it with the writers and decided we had to retain his star presence in the film while still keeping the core story of the father and three daughters intact. That’s why we rewrote the script and brought him into the first half as well. To their credit, both Hrithik and Kareena cooperated. By the time I finished “Yaadein,” it was a fairly revised version of the original script, and I could see I was walking a dangerous line.

In hindsight, what do you think didn’t work with the marketing strategy for the film? 

I told my publicist to position “Yaadein” as a father-daughter story, not a love story between Hrithik and Kareena. But the publicist made three posters — two featuring the father and daughters, and one of Hrithik and Kareena. The distributors, naturally, pushed only the Hrithik-Kareena poster. So, the audience went in expecting a love story, and instead watched a film about a father and his three daughters. The film suffered initially in India because of this mismatch, though it did well overseas. Domestically, it took a while to recover its costs.

Did Hrithik’s stardom work against ‘Yaadein’ in some ways?

We had to project him as a star in the film, otherwise, audiences would have been disappointed. It was a tricky situation, so we did what we could and changed the screenplay. Every film comes with its own destiny. As a filmmaker, you just have to stay sincere to the story. I’m proud of “Yaadein,” and of the fact that its title song is still remembered today.

Did the brand integrations in the film also hurt it?

I had already done brand integration in “Taal.” For “Yaadein,” we had 46 brand offers on the table, and I used only five or six. The thing is, when the screenplay slows down, audiences start noticing these things. Nobody noticed the Coca-Cola placement in Taal because the screenplay was tight. We were paid substantial money for it at the time. Every decision has a reason behind it, and you only find out if it was the right one once you see the results.