There can be no denying that Yash Chopra will forever remain an integral and inseparable part of Hindi cinema. During his highly celebrated career, the talented filmmaker played a big role in helping countless stars—right from Amitabh Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan—continue their tryst with stardom. Moreover, he was the one who well and truly redefined the tenets of onscreen romance through his larger than life and intense romantic dramas. While his brand of onscreen romance remains quite legendary not many know about his passionate real-life love story. Today, let us take a trip down memory lane and relive Yash – Pamela’s sweet love story.
The Jab Tak Hai Jaan filmmaker first interacted with Pamela during the wedding Sangeet of his niece. And well the first meeting had quite a filmi feel to it. As it so happens, Yash spotted Pamela as she was singing a song. Thereafter, he walked up to her and praised her.
“I think the first time I spoke to him was at Yashji‘s niece’s wedding sangeet I was in Mumbai for my holidays and staying at Simi’s home. They were invited and took me along. They said I would be a great asset as I sing Punjabi songs. I met him very briefly at first. He was too busy trying to convince Hema Malini to do a film. He and Hema were on the balcony the whole time. He came in only when the singing started. I was singing. He came up to me and complimented me on my singing. That was it,” recalled Pamela in an interview to Rediff.
While their first meeting was truly filmi, what followed next too had a dramatic/filmi.feel to it .And this happened thanks to actor Romesh Sharma’s mother who felt the Pamela was the perfect girl for Yash.
“Romesh and his father came to meet me at work. I was working with British Airways at the time. They took me out for lunch. They did not mention Yashji at all. Romesh Sharma is a very entertaining person and we had a wonderful time. They told bhabiji that I was working, had short hair! Then my parents and I went to meet him,” Pamela said.
However, this meeting proved to be quite underwhelming as Yash didn’t speak much, resulting in an awkward silence.
“When I came back home, my parents asked what I thought of him. I said, ‘Theek hain, nothing great.’ He told his family, ‘Ghanti nahi baji (The bell didn’t ring, meaning it didn’t work for him)’,” Pamela once stated.
However, it was at this point fate intervened. Yash missed his flight and ended up spending another day in Delhi. As a result, another meeting was arranged. And luckily things played out quite well this time around. As such, the two soon developed a liking for each other.
“He was wearing a lungi and kurta, sitting on the floor and playing a chamach on the dholki and Romesh’s sister was playing the dholak and they were singing. It was great fun. We were relaxed because we thought that this match won’t happen. When you meet someone for matrimony, there is a certain tension. This time, there was no tension because we had both decided we were not going to go ahead with the wedding. Strangely enough, I started liking him and he reciprocated,” Pamela said. Now that’s what we call a Kismet connection
Shortly after this, they went in for an arranged marriage. However, being married to a public figure came with its own set of challenges. To begin with, Pamela soon realised that she would never have much privacy.
“Of course, there used to be story sessions in the house which would upset the routine completely. Four, five writers would arrive early in the morning and sit till late. I had to arrange lunch for all. That was a little disturbing. There were also music sittings at home. I loved listening, but he never invited me to be part of it, so I would be in the bedroom,” she once recalled.
This promoted Pamela to join Yash on the work front as well.
“I realised early in my married life that if I want any part of Yash, I would have to join him in his work otherwise I would never get to see him. He was the kind of guy, who, in the middle of the night, would get up and start scribbling something and then go back to sleep,” she once stated.
Moreover, the split between Yash and his brother BR Chopra too caused some difficulties in Pamela’s life. Recalling the period, she once stated that following the split, some people made her feel that she was not welcome.
“Everyone kept telling me not to blame myself for the split. But they always gave me the feeling that I was not welcome, so I thought maybe it happened because of me. Yash would reassure me every time. The unpleasantness had started even before I was married; that was the reason we shifted out of the house,” she added.
Besides these problems, Pamela also had to put up with rumours of Yash dating noted actress Mumtaz who starred in his Aadmi Aur Insaan . In fact, some rumours even suggested they were on the verge of tying the knot. Recalling this phase of her married life, Pamela once remarked that a friend assured her that there was nothing going on between them.
“He (Romesh) said it was nothing. He said Mumtaz is not a filmi, dainty heroine type at all and they are very good friends. He said there was nothing more. That is not the truth, but never mind (laughs),”she added.
It must be said that even though the Yash-Pamela relationship faced quite a few challenges, it withstood the test of time and grew stronger with each and every passing day. Explaining the reason behind this Pamela once remarked that Yash gave her freedom and let her do things her way. Moreover, she stressed that he softened post marriage.
“When I was not married to him, he was an angry man on the sets. Any mistake from anyone on the sets or from the production, and he would fire that person. He was famous for not having lunch breaks when he was shooting outdoors. He was a very hard taskmaster. But slowly, he softened,” she added.
Elaborating on the relationship even further Pamela recalled that he was quite different in personal life when compared to his professional life.
“He was a completely different person at home and at work. At work, he was very efficient, and in control of things. At home, he didn’t bother. He allowed me to manage the house the way I wanted to,” she said.
On a concluding note, it must be said that Yash Chopra’s love story may not have been as dramatic or grand as his films. However, there was definitely a touch of sensitivity and tenderness around it. As such, this saga is surely one of the most underrated love stories associated with Bollywood.
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