It was like a high-end premiere night, sans flashbulbs, inside B.R. Chopra’s private theatre on Tuesday, July 10. The 90-plus patriarch was present in person, beaming happily from his wheelchair. Although he didn’t remember half the guests (including Hema Malini), the film-maker was cheerful to be in such a party atmosphere. It was an exclusive, private screening of 50-year-old Naya Daur which son Ravi Chopra has colourised, edited and readied for an August release.

I’m not very hot on nostalgia or Dilip Kumar, but the sneak preview of Naya Daur was like a crisp new romance with cinema. Not verbose like Mughal-e-Azam, the dialogues were both light-hearted and substantial, as required. When a scene pitted man against machine and upheld the mazdoor, Shabana Azmi, the eternal socialist’s daughter, broke into an impressed “kya baat hai” from the second row. Shatrughan Sinha sitting in the row ahead chuckled that it had to be Shabana!

Govinda came to the screening with wife Sunita, daughter and star aspirant Namrata, son Yash who is a star-son in the making, plus nephew and star aspirant Vinay Anand with his girlfriend, starlet Kashmira Shah. Phew, you can’t get a more filmi family than that.

Govinda wore full white for the late-night screening and accepted compliments for losing so much weight. ‘Bas, give up one meal a day,’ he advised anyone who asked him for a weight-reduction tip. He sat next to Shatru all through the film who in turn sipped his whisky from frame one to The End. As did Sanjay Khan who sat in the same row. Sanjay in his heyday had starred in B.R. Chopra’s very successful Dhund and has remained close to the family for years.

Hema Malini and Zarine Khan opted for full black pant suits while Simi Garewal was the quintessential woman in white (she has something in common with Govinda here). Simi’s trademark long straight hair has been trimmed shoulder-length.

During the interval the famous B.R. hospitality was in full display. B.R. may have lost his wife Prakash early this year, but son Ravi and his wife Renu Chopra have taken on the family legacy with ease, in more ways than one. An assortment of hot parathas (paneer, alu, methi, plain, you name it, you got it), freshly fried pakoras, samosas, veg and mutton biryani with jalebis to round it off, was like a cosy midnight feast.

The two Punams, Dhillon and Sinha, chose to wear vibrant blue. Punam Sinha who has been shooting hush-hush for Jodhaa-Akbar as Hrithik’s mom, showed her mobile where she has stored her stunning look in the film, styled by Neeta Lulla.

Back in the theatre, it was magic once again as the 50-year-old film had all the freshness of a watchable, new-age entertainer with a deep social message. The romance of Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala. The fluid grace of Vyjayanthi’s dance movements. The dosti between Dilip Kumar and a fit, shirtless Ajit (heard quite a few oohs over his body — the actor must’ve blushed in his grave, God bless him). Watching Dilip-Ajit bond you knew where the Amitabh Bachchan-Dharmendra dosti in Sholay came from. A monologue just before the climax, between Dilip Kumar and God in the mandir where he begins, “I’ve never asked you for anything”, told you where Amitabh’s famous Deewaar confrontation with God got its inspiration. And the life-at-stake wager between Dilip Kumar and the baddie (Jeevan) which pits the underdog-hero against the superiorly-placed villain was the foundation of Lagaan.

For a bit of spice, Naya Daur was the film which Madhubala had shot for before her tyrannical father had pulled her out from it to nix her off-screen romance with Dilip Kumar. In a court case that had ensued between B.R. and Madhubala, D.K. had dramatically admitted in an open court that he was in love with her before throwing his all with the film-maker. Of course, Madhubala lost the case. Vyjayanthimala stepped into Madhubala’s shoes but the screen romance between the substitute and D.K. didn’t get diluted in any way with the change in heroine!

While that was a well-known story, here’s another little tiff that surfaced just early this week. Naya Daur with its foot-tapping music by .P. Nayyar brought Asha Bhonsle to the BR Films camp 50 years ago, a point that didn’t go down well with her rival, sis Lata. Thereafter, Asha consistently sang for all their films while a miffed Lata Mangeshkar, in all these 50 years, didn’t sing ever again for the banner!

Of course, when Yash Chopra (who figures as second assistant in the credits of Naya Daur) broke away from his brother B.R. Chopra, he did just the opposite. He ignored Asha Bhonsle and struck up a special equation with Lata Mangeshkar which has continued to this day!

You could go on with the stories. But ultimately, what remains is that Naya Daur, when it is released this August, is a film that can match any new, smartass production. Even villager Dilip Kumar breaking his sister’s engagement with the son of a money-driven man and declaring, “I wouldn’t give my sister to such a greedy family” was way, way ahead of its times.

Footnote: It took three years and Rs three-and-a-half crore for Ravi Chopra to colourise his father’s classic, Naya Daur. His next, Gumraah, is already changing from black--white to colour and the son hopes to release a new B.R. nugget every six months!

Bharathi S. Pradhan is managing editor of Movie Mag International