Juno Chopra had faith in the Bareilly Ki Barfi director Ashiny Iyer Tiwari and had told her that she was meant to be a director.
Kapil Chopra also known as Juno Chopra is the son of late filmmaker Ravi Chopra. The late filmmaker had given Indian Television the magnum opus epic series, Mahabharat.
Two years before when Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari was waiting for her directorial debut Nil Battey Sannata to hit the theaters, she came to Juno Chopra with a story that she loved. Juno decided to read the French novel that had a line that inspired the film, he says,“We’d worked with Nitesh Tiwari (Ashwiny’s filmmaker husband) in our earlier production Bhootnath Returns and I’d told her that she was meant to be a director. Once we saw the script Nitesh and Shreyas Jain had penned, there was no going back and I decided to produce Bareilly Ki Barfi”
He also added that the films lead actors Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Sanon, were always the first choices for the film.
Juno Chopra is all prepared with his slate of three films, after his home production Bareilly Ki Barfi which will hit theaters on 18th August 2017.
The talented creative producer has admitted that he is still taking “baby steps“ in reviving his grandfather BR Chopra’s legacy and banner. Juno recalled how Superstar Shah Rukh Khan had once advised him how to choose films he wanted to bankroll. Juno says that Shah Rukh Khan told him,’Always make films that you truly believe in and would want to attach your name to.’
He adds,”I made that my motto. Today, I’m a hands-on producer. I sit with the writers and work with them.I like to listen to everyone but do what I want to”, Juno also shared that his upcoming three films will cut across genres and will be high on content. He said,”We’ll make announcements shortly. In Hollywood, there are tent-pole superhero films, sci-fi dramas and offbeat fare. India too is steering towards the consensus that content is king. And that’s the only thing I’m keeping in mind while green-lighting a script.”
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Juno Chopra laughs at the thought that he and his filmmaker brother who is donning the hat of the director for Ittefaq, which will have Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha, and Akshaye Khanna in prominent roles, are at loggerheads when it comes to the final casting of a film. He admits that even though brothers, along with their mom, Renu Chopra, argue endlessly until they concur with each other, nothing proceeds before they give their nod.
He says,”When we began casting for Ittefaq, all of us knew we wanted Akshaye as Rajan Kumar.Sidharth as Vikram and Sonakshi as Maya were also our first choices and luckily both of them loved the script.We’ve wrapped up the film and it’s been a fun ride, he also added that he has reunited with Rajkummar Rao who will be seen as Dr. Pratap Mehta in the remake.
Juno Chopra also harks back to the to the time when the family was hit by a rough patch, saying it brought them closer.“My dad was unwell and as a family, we were going through a bad time, but circumstances made us a stronger unit.Today, we understand each other and work towards a sole aim of seeing our banner fly high. We have our differences but are open-minded.”
