Chak Mate!

Bollywood writer and lyricist Jaideep Sahni has written some brilliant hits such as Bunty Aur Babli, Shuddh Desi Romance, Aaja Nachle and the cult classic Chak De! India through his 15-year-long creative collaboration with Yash Raj Films.

On the 13th anniversary of Chak De! India, Jaideep tells us how Aditya Chopra had given director Shimit Amin and him all the creative freedom to make this film.

“I had wanted to tell this story for a few years. When Adi asked me after Bunty Aur Babli what I wanted to do next, I told him that I wanted to do this film, so it somehow forms a bridge between the world of women athletes and the rest of the country,” says Jaideep and adds “Aditya agreed that it could make a really great film if we got it right.” The writer credits the diverse film he has written to the free hand YRF studios gave him.

“Five of my scripts, all very different from each other, have been produced by YRF. These have been directed by four different directors,” he shares.

As for Chak De! India, which critics had imagined was way ahead of its time from a creative view, Jaideep, who completes twenty years in the film industry, is happy it became a milestone in Indian cinema.

“To have imagined and written films of different genres, set in so many different environments, with different rhythms and dialects and slangs, has been a great joy. Many of these characters, dialogues or phrases of songs will become a part of peoples’ everyday conversation is something I didn’t aim for but have finally learned to enjoy gracefully.”