When ‘Yaadein’ turns 25, filmmaker Subhash Ghai has looked back on the making of the 2001 family drama, revealing how Hrithik RoshanThe meteoric rise after ‘Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai’ transformed the film in unexpected ways. Ghai also explained how a mismatch in marketing affected audience expectations despite the film’s emotional core. Recalling the inspiration behind ‘Yaadein’, Ghai said he deliberately chose a different genre after the success of ‘Taal’. Instead of another great entertainer, I wanted to tell a heartfelt story centered around a father and his three daughters.Talking to Variety India, he shared, “I have a habit of doing a film in a different genre after doing a hit. After doing ‘Saudagar’, ‘Khalnayak’, ‘Pardes’ and ‘Taal’, I wanted to tell a story about a father and three daughters, and his responsibility to marry them off. I always try to do something different with each film. So, I thought I would do a small film after ‘Taal’, with Jackie Shroff and three new girls.“
Hrithik Roshan joined before becoming a superstar
Ghai revealed that Hrithik Roshan came on board before the phenomenal success of ‘Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai’. The filmmaker was initially hesitant as the actor’s role in ‘Yaadein’ was limited, but Hrithik agreed after understanding the script.“When 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’ and was impressed, but I told him that I only had a limited role in ‘Yaadein’. Rakesh sent Hrithik to see me the next day. daughters. Since he was playing the lead in ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’, I left it to him if he wanted to play a supporting character in my film. I explained the role to him and told him that I would only appear in the second half. Hrithik agreed to do it.”
kareena kapoor accepted an unconventional role
Kareena Kapoor also surprised Ghai with her willingness to be part of an ensemble rather than a conventional heroine-centric role.“I met Kareena at a party. She told me she was doing JP Dutta’s ‘Refugee’ and wanted to work with me too. She said it was okay to be one of the three girls. I liked that both Hrithik and Kareena were so professional about it, so I signed them both at my office in Bandra for a modest fee. That night, I got calls from Kareena’s mother Babitaji and Hrithik’s mother Pinkieji; they were both excited that he had signed their sons. I told them beforehand not to get too excited as ‘Yaadein’ was not a heroine film.”
The success of the night forced major changes to the script
According to Ghai, everything changed after ‘Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai’ made Hrithik an overnight sensation. The unexpected stardom prompted the team to revise the script and expand the presence of his character.“Hrithik became a big star with ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’, and the dynamic changed overnight. I had already shot with him, and our team was worried that his role was limited to the second half of ‘Yaadein’. We discussed it with the writers and decided that we should keep his star presence in the film, keeping the main stories of the father and the three daughters intact. That’s why we rewrote the script and brought it to the first part as well. To their credit, both Hrithik and Kareena cooperated. When I finished ‘Yaadein,’ it was a pretty revised version of the original script, and I could see that I was walking a dangerous line.”
Marketing created different expectations from the public
Ghai believes that the promotional campaign inadvertently positioned the film as a romantic drama, while its emotional focus was elsewhere.“I told my publicist to position ‘Yaadein’ as a father-daughter story, not as a love story between Hrithik and Kareena. But the publicist made three posters, two with father and daughters, and one with Hrithik and Kareena. The distributors naturally only pushed the Hrithik-Kareena poster. So the audience expected a love story and instead saw a film about a father and his three daughters. The film initially suffered in India due to this mismatch, although it did well overseas. Nationally, it took a while to recoup its costs.”
Looking back with no regrets
Despite the challenges, Ghai believes every film has its own journey and destiny. He admitted that balancing Hrithik’s newfound stardom with the original narrative wasn’t easy, but remains proud of the end result.“We had to project him as the star of the film, otherwise the audience would have been disappointed. It was a tricky situation, so we did what we could and changed the script. Every film comes with its destiny. As a filmmaker, you just have to be true to the story. I am proud of ‘Yaadein’ and the fact that its title track is still remembered today.”
Brand integrations also came under scrutiny
The filmmaker also addressed criticism of the film’s product placement, explaining that only a handful of brands were included despite receiving dozens of offers.“I had already done the brand integration in ‘Taal’. once you see the results.“