Lamhe, since its 1991 release, has achieved cult status, owing to the poignant storyline and immensely strong performances by Anil Kapoor and Sridevi. However, the film surprisingly failed at the box office with its climax becoming quite the topic of debate owing to the nature of the relationship between the film leads. Yash Chopra however, would not have changed anything about the film, irrespective of its commercial failure.

Yash Chopra stood my Lamhe's narrative despite controversial climax

In a conversation with Komal Nahata, Honey Irani, who wrote the story for Lamhe, recalled how during the film's production, there were many who had raised concerns regarding the climax being too radical for a conservative audience. Yash Chopra however, had full faith in the storyline.

She said, "Lamhe was a big setback for me. Everyone had worked hard and had liked the film, how did it go wrong? Then everybody started saying, ‘We told you to change the climax.’ In fact, we were told not to keep this end and Yash ji and I had discussed and thought of three alternate ends...Yashji said, ‘Honey, what are we doing? Why are we changing our initial thought?’ So, we didn’t use the alternate versions and Yash ji said, ‘I will use this end only, nahi chalegi toh nahi chalegi (If it doesn't work it doesn't work).' "

The script for Lamhe was written in just 15 days

The interview also saw Irani share how the script for the film was just spun over 15 days. The story of Lamhe, came from a one-line idea that Yash Chopra had shared with Irani which simply highlighted the themes of unrequited love and divine intervention. 

She said, "After listening to the narration, he (Chopra) left without giving any expression or saying anything. I started crying and Pam was also crying. I told her, ‘I am crying because I think the party is over, why are you crying?’ She told me she liked the script very much. I thought I wrote it in 15 days, I should have given it more time. Yash ji came after half an hour and hugged me. That was the best day of my life."