Yash Chopra's perfect plan

For Aseem Chhabra Yash Chopra's last film, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, signals the end of an era in Bollywood.

It was a perfect plan, before even a single frame had been shot. A master, a legendary filmmaker who commanded a tremendous amount of respect from the industry and the audience for his personal brand of romantic cinema that spanned five decades, had finally announced his next film.

And in doing so Yash Chopra put together the best imaginable package: First time collaboration with composer A R Rahman, lyricist Gulzar, along with the bright diamond in the gems he had gathered — Shah Rukh Khan, in the lead of what would was obviously expected to be a romantic musical.

So what if we did not know what the film was about, let alone what was its name. Chopra's yet-to-be-named 22nd film of his career was an event most Bollywood fans were looking forward to (there may be those who just do not like a Shah Rukh Khan film, and I wish them good luck).

It would be eight years since Veer Zara — the last time we got a taste of Chopra's fully realised, old-fashioned romantic cinema. In between those years, the production house that he launched and his older son now runs, produced a whole slew of films — a mixed bag, some hits and real fun films (Band Baaja Baaraat, Chak De! India, Bunty Aur Babli), but many of them unimpressive (Neal 'N' Nikki, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Pyaar Impossible!).

But there was always the good old Chopra kind of cinema with attractive adult actors, falling in love — often in extra-marital settings, prancing on the Swiss Alps, sometimes in slow motion, to sweeping musical scores, lip syncing classical memorable songs that would fill our hearts. That is the kind of cinema Chopra promised to deliver, taking us back to the days of Daag, Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Chandni and even the fun Dil To Pagal Hai.

Little details were revealed to us — in small portions. The new film was being shot in London, in Kashmir. The press was even allowed to be present at the shoot in Kashmir to get a glimpse of Khan's unshaven look. We saw videos of the songs — Challa, Saans and