Chandni (Hindi: चांदनी, Translation: "Moonlight") is a Hindi film released in 1989. The film stars Sridevi, Rishi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna, and was directed by Yash Chopra.

Chandni was a blockbuster in 1989 and is one of the most successful films of Indian cinema. The huge profits of this musical brought an end to director Yash Chopra's lean phase. The platinum success of its music was instrumental in ending the era of violence in Bollywood and bringing back music into Hindi films. The film reaffirmed Sridevi's position as the top female star of the Eighties. It also prolonged Rishi Kapoor's fading career and reassured that he was still profitable as a lead hero for its producers. The film also provided a boost for Vinod Khanna's career since he returned to Bollywood. The film also reunited Kapoor and Khanna, who were last seen together in the popular film Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977. Sridevi's white costumes became popular as the 'Chandni Look' and the songs of the film are still a rage. Though it was not the first time Yash Chopra shot a film in Switzerland, the extensive scenes shot there made it a popular destination to visit for Indians.

The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film of that year.

Plot[link]

Chandni is a story of a young,beautiful girl Chandni who falls in love with a rich man and how he ditch her and again she finds love but her previous love come again in her life.This Film is regarded as one of the best masterpiece of Romantic Musical Drama and also one of Sridevi's finest perfomance and also the film is remembared for Sridevi's beautiful looks and costumes in the film.Chandni (Sridevi) meets Rohit (Rishi Kapoor) at a wedding of his relative, and falls instantly in love with her. He pursues her relentlessly until she agrees to date him, and eventually they become engaged to be married. His family is very much against this because of the differences in their social status, but Rohit doesn't care.

One day, Rohit calls Chandni and asks her to wait for him on the terrace of her house, which she does. As she's waiting the afternoon's silence is broken by the roaring blades of a helicopter and there in the sky Rohit appears who proceeds to shower Chandni in red rose petals. He disappears from her vision and she is once again surrounded by silence, though this time she has an unnerving feeling something has happened. Seconds later, Chandni hears the phone ringing and runs to it with trembling excitement knowing it is Rohit. It is not and she is given the news that Rohit is in hospital. Faced with stony expressions of Rohit's family in the hospital she is instantly accused of being the reason why Rohit fell from the helicopter. From there the family's animosity continues towards Chandni as Rohit is paralysed on his right side and his family continues to berate her. Finally, in a gut wrenching scene, Rohit drives Chandni away for good by accusing her of exactly the same thing. She leaves, not knowing that Rohit, no longer able to stand the taunts towards Chandni, on purpose drove a wedge between them thinking as long as he is in a wheelchair he would never be able to protect her.

Chandni, intent on erasing every memory of Rohit, decides to move to Mumbai in order to turn over a new leaf. She starts working for a travel agency which is headed by Lalit (Vinod Khanna), a handsome and charming man, but like Chandni he too has heartaches of his own hidden deep within. In a short space of time he falls in love with Chandni and asks her to marry him. She dwells on this question and finally says yes to the exultation of both himself and his mother. Coincidentally Lalit, on a business trip in Switzerland, meets Rohit who is there to receive treatment for his paralysis and now no longer needs the wheelchair. The men tell each other their stories and sing with joy of love, not knowing they are both singing about the same girl.

Back in India Rohit shows up one evening at Chandni's door and to her utter amazement he stands up and does a little dance. Both are so overwrought with emotion at seeing each other again that Rohit proposes to her. Chandni remembers Lalit and informs Rohit she now belongs to someone else. Taken aback, Rohit becomes angry and says she will always belong to him, to which Chandni reminds him of that fateful day of their separation and asks him what he would have done if he had been in her place? Rohit mourns the memory and leaves with a regrettable shrug of his shoulders.

As Rohit and Lalit had become such good friends in Switzerland, Lalit invited his friend to his wedding and prior to this day Lalit invites Chandni to meet this new friend. Rohit and Chandni pretend to be strangers to spare Lalit. On the day of the wedding, Rohit under the influence of alcohol to drown out what is going to take place today, stumbles down a flight of stairs leading to the wedding procession; but moments before his gaze became locked with Chandni's and both remembered days gone by. The fall results in a hysterical Chandni screaming for Rohit to be saved and as Lalit looks on he realises that Chandni belongs to Rohit and she was the person Rohit was singing about in Switzerland. In the end, he lets Chandni go to be with Rohit.

Cast[link]

• Sridevi as Chandni
• Rishi Kapoor as Rohit Gupta
• Vinod Khanna as Lalit Khanna
• Waheeda Rehman as Mrs. Khanna (Lalit's mom)
• Sushma Seth as Mrs. Gupta (Rohit's mom)
• Anupam Kher as Ramesh (Cameo)
• Juhi Chawla as Devika (Cameo)

Music[link]

The music of Chandni was composed by Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia, known together as Shiv-Hari. The song lyrics were provided by Anand Bakshi. In addition to the songs listed below, there was a recurring instrumental love melody, not part of a full song. That melody was further developed into the song "Kabhi Main Kahoon" for Chopra's next movie Lamhe, also scored by Shiv-Hari.

The film's soundtrack was a blockbuster hit in India.^{[citation needed]} It is believed that the film's soundtrack brought back the musical genre, with its songs and lyrics all being critically acclaimed.^{[citation needed]} According to Yash Raj Films, the soundtrack went 4x Platinum on the day of the premiere itself.^{[citation needed]} By the 25th week, it went 25x Platinum, a new standard in the music industry.^{[citation needed]}

Awards[link]

Filmfare Awards^[1]

• Nominated, Best Movie
• Nominated, Best Director - Yash Chopra
• Nominated, Best Actress - Sridevi
• Nominated, Best Actor - Rishi Kapoor
• Nominated, Best Music - Shiv-Hari
• Nominated, Best Lyrics - Anand Bakshi - Lagi Aaj Sawan Ki
• Nominated, Best Male Singer - Suresh Wadkar - Lagi Aaj Sawan Ki
• Won, Best Cinematography - Manmohan Singh

National Film Awards^[2]

• Won, Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment - Yash Chopra

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chandni at the Internet Movie Database