"Chandni" was Yash Chopra's return to the romance film. Assisted by his son Aditya and inspired by the success of "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak" a year earlier, Chopra ventured to created a 'modern' romance devoid of the violent, action based themes that had dominated Indian screens for the past decade. The film was hugely successful, and helped to cement the trend towards the resurgence of romance based film stories in Bollywood.

The film explore the many different natures of love and relationship beyond the one of pure sexual passion. Love as friendship, companionship, duty, and loyalty are all engaged within the melodrama of "Chandni". Loss and the resurrection of self from past trauma by the healing qualities of these aspects of love is the prevalent theme. Sridevi as the title character of the film, Chandni, is the catalyst, embodiment, and vehicle for Chopra's message.

The film is ultimately memorable for Sridevi's contribution. Her famous 'dream sequence' dance number is considered one of the all time classics of Bollywood.