The Romantics: “In Dhoom, I spent more money on bikes than on Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Uday Chopra” – Aditya Chopra

By Fenil Seta -

February 15, 2023 - 2:00 PM IST

The Netflix show The Romantics is out and it speaks about the history of Yash Raj Films and the rise of Yash Chopra’s career. From the second episode, Aditya Chopra steps in to speak about the history of YRF and it’s definitely a highlight as this is the first time we see him giving an interview. The shy and reclusive filmmaker talks about several memorable films produced by him, including Dhoom (2004). Starring Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Uday Chopra, Rimii Sen and Esha Deol, it was a story of a cop chasing a biker gang. The film was released with minimal expectations but emerged as a super hit. The sequels, Dhoom 2 (2006) and Dhoom 3 (2013), meanwhile, were blockbusters.

The Romantics: “In Dhoom, I spent more money on bikes than on Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Uday Chopra” – Aditya Chopra

Aditya Chopra explained in The Romantics what prompted him to make Dhoom, “There were three pillars of Hindi films like everybody used to say and that you can’t do without, which is drama, emotion and romance. I said I am going to remove these three pillars and see what happens (laughs)!” He added, "With Dhoom, I wanted to make a film where I wanted to combine Manmohan Desai and Michael Bay."

Aditya Chopra further said, “I wanted to make a very non-Yash Raj film because Yash Raj Films was known only for romance. Because Yash Raj Films was actually Yash Chopra, you know. And to be a studio, I had to make sure we’re good at doing other stuff as well!”

Knowing that Dhoom is an experiment of sorts, he admitted that he worked on a limited budget and that he chose to go for upcoming actors and not stars. He also quipped, "In Dhoom, I spent more money on bikes than on Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Uday Chopra!"

Then we see Uday Chopra explaining how he met a guy who spoke in a very ‘tapori’ manner and that helped him to play Ali. John Abraham expressed that he was glad to do a film where he didn’t have any songs. Abhishek Bachchan, meanwhile, revealed that his father Amitabh Bachchan and Aditya’s father Yash Chopra loved Dhoom’s trailer so much that they saw it on repeat 10-12 times. He said, “Yash uncle said, ‘Baccho ne acchi picture banayi hai’. That was the ultimate pat on the back.”

Uday Chopra also revealed, “On the day of Dhoom’s release, Adi called and told Abhishek, ‘Congratulations. You just gave your first hit!’” Abhishek Bachchan recalled this moment and added, “I went crazy, I cried and jumped up and down.”

Also Read: John Abraham thanks Pathaan producer Aditya Chopra: ‘The way he positions me, whether it is Dhoom, New York, or now Pathaan, the credit goes to him’