Director Aziz Mirza’s Yes Boss which released on July 18, 1997, was an indirect adaptation of Billy Wilder’s 1960s’ romcom The Apartment which was about a young executive lending his apartment to his boss for the his rendezvous with his mistress.
Mirza’s take with Shah Rukh as the obliging lackey to Aditya Pancholi’s boss act, was some shades darker than The Apartment but nonetheless blithe-spirited.
Mirza made three back-to-back films with his ‘bachchas’ Shah Rukh and Juhi Chawla: Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman(1992), Yes Boss(1997) and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani(2000). Mirza then made Chalte Chalte with Shah Rukh and Rani Mukherjee.
After four successful films with Shah Rukh, in 2008 Mirza made the unsuccessful Kismat Konnection with Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan.
Aziz explains, “Shah Rukh is like my own child. I can never move away from him. The only reason why Shah Rukh was not in my last film Kismat Connection was because the role required a young boy, just out of college. In fact the minute Juhi Chawla heard the role she said she could see a younger Shah Rukh in it. That’s how Shahid Kapoor came in.”
Reminiscing on his close bonding with SRK, Aziz says, “Shah Rukh was like my bachcha from the time he starte. We did Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Yes Boss together. Both were important films in the early part of Shah Rukh’s career. Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani came before its time.”
Aziz denies being one of the architects of SRK’s superstardom. “It’s wrong to say I helped his career. Everyone has his destiny. Shah Rukh became an overnight star with Deewana. I remember they had shot half the film with another actor. Shah Rukh came into the project at that late stage. If that isn’t destiny, then what is? I’ve done four films with Shah Rukh. One doesn’t have to continue working constantly with the one’s whom one loves. Some relationships go beyond the professional. Shah Rukh is certainly one of them.”
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