Aditya Chopra as YRF's new face?

With the founder of Yash Raj no more, the concern is whether his reclusive son can step up and lead

Even as the film industry mourns the loss of an institution, an air of uncertainty has enveloped one of its most powerful banners.

With the founder of Yash Raj Films no more, the concern is not whether the show will go on as much as who will now be the face of this masses-friendly banner?

While the late Yash Chopra's sons Aditya and Uday are extremely capable of carrying the YRF legacy forward, Aditya's conspicuous lack of interactive and social skills, as opposed to his father's unconditionally gregarious nature, is what is really worrying those close to YRF.

A friend of the Chopra family said, "Forget about social interaction. Adi is a recluse. He doesn't like being seen in the public domain. So far, he was happy in his space, functioning faceless, letting his father be the face and voice, the life and spirit of the banner. But what happens now?"

An actor associated with the production house spoke in Aditya's defence, "Yash has left behind afantastic legacy. He will be missed. He is irreplaceable. But production plans at Yash Raj will suffer no setback. Adi has an outstanding creative mind. He has the knack of sniffing out acting and directorial talent and making the best use of it. Names like Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharmaand Arjun Kapoor or Maneesh Sharma, Habib Faisal, Kabir Khan and Ali Abbas Zafar have all been discovered and groomed by Adi. For the last decade or so, Yash had receded to the background to allow Adi to take over the reins of production."

Meanwhile, a source from YRF said, "The company is run by excellent administrators who know their jobs in and out and care for the banner like they would their own family. Adi doesn't need to stretch himself to be seen and heard in the public domain. As for Yash, he was friendly, yes. But Adi is not hostile to social exposure. He is just wary of social contact. He won't change himself. He doesn't need to. Finally, it's the products that give Yash Raj their premium value."

Another friend of the family said, "I've been very close to Yash for many years. Ek ghar ka mahaul tha. After him, things are bound to change. Adi has a different approach to the family business. Earlier, actors and technicians who worked for the banner were part of the family. I think things would get a lot more business-like now."

While there is no doubt the banner has passed into very capable hands for it has been Aditya who has been helming the many productions undertaken by it for long now, it is largely felt Adi will have to go on some serious goodwill hunting to be able to step into his father's rather large shoes.