Poonam Dhillon recently recalled her conversation with the late legendary filmmaker, Yash Chopra. She revealed that she once pitched a film to the director, which was based on the book, The Promise by Daniel Steele. However, his reaction was nothing like she had envisioned.
Yash Chopra rejected the Yeh Vaada Raha story
Poonam Dhillon recently sat for a conversation with the news agency, ANI, where she revealed that her pitch for Yeh Vaada Raha was rejected by Yash Chopra. While the film was later directed by Kapil Kapoor in 1982, Yash’s rejection is something she still remembers vividly. The actress shared that the legendary filmmaker had rejected the film, stating that the Indian audience won’t accept ‘Hema Malini becoming Zeenat Aman’. For the uninitiated, according to the plot of the story, the lead female actor undergoes a complete transformation after undergoing cosmetic surgery.
Poonam Dhillon revealed that she read the original book by Daniel Steele while travelling to Japan. She added that thereafter, she decided to pitch the story to Yash Chopra. However, once he heard the plot of the film, he straight away rejected the story.
“I told Yashji. I said, ‘Yashji, ek bohot achchi kahani maini padhi hai. I think it’s a lovely story’. He said, ‘I don’t read books, you give it to Pam, she’ll read it and tell me’. So I said, ‘Okay’. Yeah, so Pam ji read it probably again in a day. It was a very fast read. And she gave him the narration of the subject. And I was very excited waiting for his reaction. So I said, Yash ji, you read it, Pam ji told you. He said, ‘Yes, yes. But this film, our Hindi audience won’t accept it’. I said, ‘Why, Yash ji, it’s such a good story, you know, romantic story, everything.'”
In the same conversation, Poonam Dhillon revealed that, according to Yash Chopra, there was a major flaw in the story. In his opinion, the plot was not suitable for the Hindi audience. She shared that Yash’s rejection ended her dreams and stated:
“He said, acha ek baat bta. Hema Malini Zeenat Aman ban jaae, kon accept karega?’ He finished my dream right then and there, and the story was over. Yash Chopra toh nhi banane waale the.”
Yash Chopra was right about Yeh Vaada Raha
In the same conversation, Poonam Dhillon revealed that while the film was later made by Kapil Kapoor, it only proved Yash Chopra correct. She added that the film struggled at the box office, as plastic surgery was not a widely accepted subject in India at the time. Hence, the film flopped upon its release. She was quoted as saying:
“And sure, it proved right enough. At that time, plastic surgery wasn’t something people would accept so easily. And that whole face has changed, and the same person is etc. So, it didn’t work well at that time.”
More about Yeh Vaada Raha
Yeh Vaada Raha was released in 1982 and also starred Rishi Kapoor, Tina, Rakhee and Shammi Kapoor. It was the first Hindi film where the lead female character was portrayed by two actors (Poonam and Tina) through the use of plastic surgery. However, the new concept was not welcomed by the audience.
What are your thoughts on Poonam Dhillon’s revelations? Let us know.
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