DDLJ Completes 1000 Weeks Today - Updates

Anuj Mathur, 49, credits his success to his stint with YRF. Today he's the chief recording engineer with Yash Raj Films, but almost 20 year ago, he was the sound designer of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Given the nature of his job, he would constantly record ambient or other sounds pertaining to the film on outdoor locations. Though few films already used Dolby SR, Yash Raj was the first to use it and create sound effects from the scratch. "All sounds, or dialogues were done in the Dolby set up."

It took Anuj over two months to re-record the sound and another 45 days for the final mixing. When DDLJ was heading for 300 weeks, he told Aditya about the Dolby 5.1 sound. "I told him that we can now mix it in 5.1 and he immediately gave me a good ahead," says Anuj. Recalling the Switzerland schedule of the film that saw Yash Chopra work as a production manager, he says, "Every room had a small notepad and a pen and we were supposed to put down our requirements. By the end of the day whatever we asked for, would find its way there."

Christmas probably did come early for the cast and crew of DDLJ, as the senior Chopras went out of their way to ensure that the team got anything it required. Yash Chopra's wife Pamela too was on the sets and even after a stressful day, she knew the preferences of every crewmember. "I loved strawberry cakes so after a tiring day, she would send in a message that there are strawberry cakes which she has made. Till date, they have treated everyone as family."

Once the work for the day was done, Adi would be one of the most relaxed guys around. "Aditya was very technically sound and I never saw him angry. After pack up, he would sing songs, play cricket and always looked after everyone." Anuj has watched the movie with his family and friends and is surprised that people cheer in the theatres after so many years.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge tops many a list of Bollywood romance flicks and holds the record for being the second longest running film in the world. But statistics aside, for filmi buffs, the film is the epitome of on-screen romance and quotable quotes. While the stars are clearly the face of the film, a gargantuan effort was made by the editor to compress the best elements of the movie and present it in the best way possible.

Keshav Naidu was in his 40s when he worked with Aditya Chopra for DDLJ. He admits that when he first laid his eyes on the footage of the first schedule of the film, he knew it was going to be historic. "The day I saw the footage, I was like this film is history in the making. Of all the directors I have worked with in the industry, Aditya is the easiest man to work with. He was very clear headed; no hassles and we could work very smoothly. He knew what he wanted so the decision was taken very quickly.

The work was fast-paced and for a first film of a new director, I think it was brilliant," recollects Keshav, while adjusting his black-framed spectacles and trying to recollect every moment of that time.That Aditya had a very clear idea of how he wanted the film to be and eventually turn out, helped Keshav in putting together the masterpiece of a film. "It's a well crafted screenplay; everything is well knit that there is nothing much you can do beyond the director's vision. Any other person in my place would have done the same thing. The film will always be remembered for the performances of Shah Rukh and Kajol. This one scene where they are parting away after the tour at the railway station, she talks about her impending wedding and asks if he would attend. Shah Rukh just says Mein Nahi Aaunga'. That is a world-class scene and till date I have not seen a scene so powerful."

While reams have been written about the super success of the film, not many know that the film actually did take up as many reams, quite literally. The unedited footage of DDLJ went up to 1.5 lakh feet. The final print was as long as 16,000 feet. A total 18 movie reels were used for the shoot, which isn't much for a debutant considering most senior directors would end up consuming more than 21 reels. Keshav lets out that Yash Chopra had imported an 8-plate Steenbeck editing table, the only one of its kind in the industry at that time. Even Yashraj had, until then, worked on a six-plate one.

Given that the film went on to become a blockbuster in the pre-'100-crore club era, we ask him what his remuneration was back then. He smiles and without hesitation says, "I was paid Rs2.5 lakhs. In those days the standard of living was not too high... toh chal jaata tha."

While Keshav assisted Aditya in his debut film, it wasn't his first stint with the Chopras. He started his career by doing odd jobs at a film lab in Worli, which had long rows of editing rooms. He came in contact with many ad filmmakers; directors who always needed technical help in the final stages. He helped filmmaker Chetan Anand in one of his films and later bagged the job of an editor for the Rajesh Khanna-starrer Kudrat.

"During the mixing of this film at Raj Kamal Studios, Mangesh Desai (re-recordist of Deewar) saw my enthusiasm and liked my work. At that time Yash Raj Films was looking for an editor and he recommended by name to Yash Chopra. So I joined them. At that time he was making Silsila." The rest, as they say, is history. Little did Keshav know what a role he'd have in shaping cinematic history.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/141211/entertainment-bollywood/article/16000-ft-film-makes-history

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A picture worth a 1,000 weeks

DC CORRESPONDENT | December 12, 2014, 00.12 am IST