Yash Chopra

Yash Chopra
File:Yash Chopra.JPG Yash Chopra at Suzanne Roshan's The Charcoal Project Launch
Born	(1932-09-27) 27 September 1932 Lahore, British India (now Pakistan)
Died	21 October 2012(2012-10-21) (aged 80) Mumbai, India
Occupation(s)	Director, Filmmaker, Script writer, Producer
Years active	1959 - 2012
Spouse	Pamela Chopra (1970 - present)
Children	Aditya Chopra Uday Chopra
Relatives	B.R. Chopra (Brother) Dharam Chopra (Brother)
Signature
File:Yash Chopra Signature.jpg

Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 - 21 October 2012) born in Lahore, British India, was an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, predominantly working in Hindi cinema. Chopra began his career as an assistant director to I.S. Johar and his elder brother, B.R. Chopra. He made his directorial debut with Dhool Ka Phool in 1959, a melodrama about illegitimacy and followed it with the hard-hitting social drama Dharmputra (1961). Encouraged by the success of both films, the Chopra brothers made several more movies together during the late fifties and sixties. Chopra then rose to prominence after the commercially and critically successful drama, Waqt (1965), which pioneered the concept of multi-starters in Bollywood.

In 1973, Chopra founded his own production company, Yash Raj Films, and launched it with Daag: A Poem of Love (1973), a successful melodrama about a polygamous man. His success continued in the seventies, with some of Indian cinema's most successful and iconic films, including the action thriller Deewar (1975) which established Amitabh Bachchan as the "angry young man" of Bollywood, the romantic drama Kabhi Kabhie (1976) and Trishul (1978). The eighties marked a professional setbacks in Chopra's career as several films he directed and produced in that period failed to leave a mark at the Indian box office, notably Silsila (1981), Mashaal (1984) and Vijay (1988). However, in 1989, Chopra directed the commercially and critically successful cult film Chandni which became instrumental in ending the era of violence in Bollywood and bringing back music into Hindi films.

Chopra then directed and produced the cult classic Lamhe in 1991. Considered by critics and Chopra himself as his best work to date. The film was critically acclaimed and became one of the biggest Bollywood hits in the overseas market. Chopra followed it with the box-office hit and trend setter Darr (1993). Starring the then-débutant Shahrukh Khan, it showed a sympathetic look at obsessive love and defied the image of the conventional hero. Since then, Chopra directed three more romantic films, all starring Khan; Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) before he announced his retirement from directing in 2012. Chopra is chairman and founder of both the motion picture production and distribution company Yash Raj Films which ranks as India's biggest production company as of 2006 and the Yash Raj Studios.

Chopra's career has spanned over five decades and over 50 films.He is considered among one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of Hindi cinema. Chopra has won several film awards, including six National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare awards including four Filmfare Award for Best Director. The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005 for his contributions towards Indian cinema. BAFTA presented him with a lifetime membership for his contribution to the films, making him the first Indian to receive the honour in the 59-year history of the academy.His last movie was Jab Tak Hai Jaan(2012).

Early life

Chopra was born on 27 September 1932 in Lahore (now in Pakistan) to a Punjabi family. The youngest of eight children, the oldest of whom was almost 30 years his senior, he was largely brought up in the Lahore house of his second brother, B.R Chopra, then a film journalist. Chopra went to Jullundur in 1945 to continue his education and later moved to Ludhiana in Punjab (in India) after the partition. He was originally ought to pursuit a career in engineering. However, his passion for filmmaking led him to travel to Bombay (now Mumbai) where he initially worked as an assistant director to I. S. Johar, and then for his director-producer brother, B.R. Chopra.

Career

Chopra received his first directorial opportunity in 1959 with the social drama Dhool Ka Phool. Produced by his elder B.R.Chopra and starring Mala Sinha, Rajendra Kumar and Leela Chitnis. The film revolved around a Muslim bringing up an `illegitimate' Hindu child. The film was well received by critics and became the fourth highest grossing film of the year. Encouraged by their success, the Chopra's made another hard-hitting social drama, Dharmputra (1961) which was one of the first films to depict the scenario of partition of India and and the Hindu fundamentalism. The film marked the debut of Shashi Kapoor in a fully fledged role and was awarded with the National award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The theatres screenings of the film were disturbed with violent demonstration due to the raw reconstruction of the partition riots and sloganeering featured in it. This led Chopra to never make a political film again.

Chopra's collaboration with his brother continued in the form of 1965's film Waqt which featured an ensemble cast including Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Sadhana, Balraj Sahni, Madan Puri, Sharmila Tagore, Achala Sachdev and Rehman. The film became a commercial and a critical success and is acknowledged as a 'found film' of the 'lost and found' genre. Setting many other trends, it was one of Indian cinema's first multi-starrers, a mode which became increasingly popular among the producers during the 1970s. It also began the now obligatory style of depicting wealth and social classes. Additionally, Chopra received his first Filmfare Best Director Award for the film. In 1969, Chopra directed two movies which were again produced by B. R. Chopra. The first was Aadmi Aur Insaan, the Chopra film to feature Dharmendra in the lead. It was an average grosser. He then directed, Ittefaq, a suspense movie based on a Gujarati play, depicting the events of a single night. Shot in a month and on a low budget, the film was deemed unusual by critics as it was one of the first Hindi films which did not have any songs or an interval. it was eventually declared a semi-hit at the box office and won Chopra an other Filmfare award for best director.

In 1971, Chopra founded Yash Raj Films, thus terminating the creative collaboration between him and his brother. His first independently produced film Daag, a melodrama about a man with two wives, was a great success. He then made a number of classic cult films starring Amitabh Bachchan and scripted by Salim-Javed notably Deewaar and Trishul which were great hits and remain popular even today. These films set the trend for the late 70s and 80s, establishing Bachchan as a star, in his role as the angry young man. Chopra won yet another Filmfare Best Director Award for Deewaar. Chopra produced, directed and scripted two more films starring Bachchan, unlike his earlier action oriented films, the two cinematic outings were romantic dramas, First, it was Kabhi Kabhie in 1976 followed by Silsila in 1981.

The eighties marked a professional setbacks in Chopra's career as several films he directed and produced in that period failed to leave a mark at the Indian box office. The first film he directed and produced was Mashaal in 1984, his first collaboration with the legendary actor, Dilip Kumar. The action-oriented film which was based on the well-known Marathi play titled "Ashroonchi Zhali Phule" won critical acclaim but fared only averagely at the box-office. A year later, he made Faasle. The romantic drama starring Sunil Dutt, Rekha,and Rohan Kapoor was a critical and commercial failure. And is often seen (by both him and critics) as his worst movie to date. Another action oriented film by him, Vijay (1988) was met with the same fate at the box office. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was dubbed as a remake of Trishul.

However, Chopra's lean phase ended in 1989 with the highly successful cult classic Chandni, a film with all the hallmarks of what has come to be known as the "Yash Chopra style": heroine-oriented, romantic, emotional, depicting the lifestyle of the super elite, with melodic music used in songs picturised in foreign locations. It also marked the first collaboration between the filmmaker and established heroine, Sridevi, The huge success of its music was instrumental in ending the era of violence in Bollywood films and bringing back music into Hindi films. It also reaffirmed Sridevi's position as the top female star of the Eighties. Though it was not the first time Chopra shot a film in Switzerland, the extensive scenes shot there made it a popular destination to visit for Indians. The film won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film of that year. He then followed it with Lamhe in 1991, starring frequent collaborators Anil Kapoor and Sridevi. The film was critically acclaimed, had exceptional music and was one of the biggest Bollywood hits in the overseas market. However, it was not a box-office success in India. The film won five Filmfare awards including the Filmfare Award for Best Movie. Over the years the film has been hailed as a cult classic and is regarded as a modern masterpiece and possibly his finest film to date. It was featured in Outlook magazine's list of All-Time Great Indian films. It has also been cited by Chopra as his personal favourite of the films he has done.

He then directed, produced and co-wrote the 1997 highly successful romantic musical Dil To Pagal Hai, starring yet again Khan in a love triangle with Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor. It was the first Bollywood movie to be shot in Germany. The film became the second highest grosser for the year. It won many awards, including sweeping seven Filmfare Awards including that of Best Film and three National Awards, notably for Best Film providing popular and wholesome entertainment yet again. Chopra then took a sabbatical from directing and focused solely on producing films for over eight years. However, in 2004, he returned to direction through the love saga Veer-Zaara. Starring Khan again, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji in the leading roles, the film was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas, with a worldwide gross of over ₹940 million and was screened at the 55th Berlin Film Festival to critical appreciation. The film which narrated the love story of an Indian air-force officer veer Pratabh Singh (Khan) and a Pakistani woman, Zaara Haayat Khan (Zinta) was appreciated by critics. Rama Sharma from The Tribune write, "Giving love its due, Yash Chopra has understandably linked the script to the life of a common man. The pace is exacting. Drawing from the best of the two countries, the story is made more colourful by a spray of the Punjabi culture — be it celebrating Lohri in India or visiting a dargah in Pakistan. He has handled the script cleverly. Whenever the pace begins to slacken, he introduces a new character and a twist."

In September 2012, in an special interview with actor Shahrukh Khan on the occasion of his eightieth birthday, Chopra announced that Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) would be his last directorial venture and that he will opt to focus on his production company and his personal life.

For the shoot of the last remaining song in Jab Tak Hai Jaan, director Yash Chopra had a grand vision: a sari-clad Katrina Kaif romancing Shah Rukh Khan in the lush meadows of the Swiss Alps. But unfortunately, his illness, caused by a bout of dengue, stymied the plan for the song, which would have reflected his trademark directorial style.

Chopra’s trip to Switzerland with SRK and Katrina had to be cancelled after he was admitted to Lilavati hospital on Saturday.

Personal life

In 1970 Chopra married Pamela Singh and together they have two sons Aditya and Uday, born in 1971 and 1973. respectively. Aditya is also a film director and producer and holds the position of vice-chairman and general manager of Yash Raj Films while Uday is an assistant director turned actor who made his acting debut in 2000 in his brother's film Mohabbatein.

Death

Yash Chopra died on 21 October 2012 IST, from dengue in Lilavati Hospital at the age of 80.

Filmography

Producer

Main article: Yash Raj Films

• Daag (1973)
• Kabhi Kabhie (1976)
• Doosra Aadmi (1977)
• Trishul (1978)
• Noorie (1979)
• Kaala Pathar (1979)
• Silsila (1981)
• Nakhuda (1981)
• Sawaal (1982)
• Mashaal (1984)
• Faasle (1985)
• Vijay (1988)
• Chandni (1989)
• Lamhe (1991)

• Darr (1993)
• Aaina (1993)
• Yeh Dillagi (1994)
• Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
• Humko Ishq Ne Maara (Telefilm) (1997)
• Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
• Mohabbatein (2000)
• Mujhse Dosti Karoge! (2002)
• Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (2002)
• Saathiya (2002)
• Hum Tum (2004)
• Dhoom (2004)
• Veer-Zaara (2004)
• Bunty Aur Babli (2005)

• Salaam Namaste (2005)
• Neal N Nikki (2005)
• Fanaa (2006)
• Dhoom 2 (2006)
• Kabul Express (2006)
• Ta Ra Rum Pum (2007)
• Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007)
• Chak De India (2007)
• Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007)
• Aaja Nachle (2007)
• Tashan (2008)
• Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008)
• Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008)
• Roadside Romeo (2008)

• Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008)
• New York (2009)

• Dil Bole Hadippa (2009)
• Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009)
• Pyaar Impossible (2010)
• Band Baaja Baaraat (2010)
• Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge (2011)
• Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011)
• Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011)
• Ishaqzaade (2012)
• Ek Tha Tiger (2012)

Assistant Director

1. Ek Hi Rasta (1956)
2. Naya Daur (1957)
3. Sadhna (1958)

Director

1. Dhool Ka Phool (1959)
2. Dharmputra (1961)
3. Waqt (1965)
4. Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969)
5. Ittefaq (1969)
6. Daag (1973)
7. Joshila (1973)
8. Deewaar (1975)
9. Kabhi Kabhie (1976)
10. Trishul (1978)
11. Kaala Patthar (1979)
12. Silsila (1981)
13. Mashaal (1984)
14. Faasle (1985)
15. Vijay (1988)
16. Chandni (1989)
17. Lamhe (1991)
18. Parampara (1992)
19. Darr (1993)
20. Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
21. Veer-Zaara (2004)
22. Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)

Awards

National Film Award (Producer)

• 1998, National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Dil To Pagal Hai
• 2005, National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Veer-Zaara

Filmfare Awards

• 1965, Filmfare Best Director Award, Waqt
• 1969, Filmfare Best Director Award, Ittefaq
• 1973, Filmfare Best Director Award, Daag
• 1975, Filmfare Best Director Award, Deewar
• 1991, Filmfare Best Movie Award, Lamhe
• 1995, Filmfare Best Movie Award, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
• 1997, Filmfare Best Movie Award, Dil To Pagal Hai
• 2004, Filmfare Best Movie Award, Veer-Zaara
• 2006, Filmfare Power Award
• 2007, Filmfare Power Award
• 2008, Filmfare Power Award

Honours and recognitions

• Padma Bhushan in 2005.
• France's highest civilian honour, Legion of Honour,
• Vice President of the Film Producers’ Guild of India for the last 10 years.
• Handpicked by the British Film Institute for a book written by Rachel Dwyer in their ‘World Directors Series’. This book showcases the glorious five-decade career of Yash Chopra.
• Pusan International Film Festival - Asian Filmmaker of the Year, 2009
• Honoured along with the Egyptian comedy superstar Adel Imam and the Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman as the Asian, Arab and Hollywood honorees in the Dubai International Film Festival "In the Spotlight", which honors the work of eminent actors, producers and directors from around the world for their distinguished service to the film industry.
• Honoured by the Swiss Government for rediscovering Switzerland and recently, he was presented a Special Award by Ursula Andress on behalf of the Swiss Government.
• Currently on the Advisory Board of the Information & Broadcasting Ministry of the Government of India.
• Founder Trustee of Film Industry Welfare Trust established in the year 1996.
• Received the BBC Asia Awards twice – in 1998 and 2001 for his outstanding contribution in films.
• Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Millennium Lifetime Achievement award in 2001.
• Certificate of Recognition from the British Tourist Authority and British Film Commission for promoting tourism in the UK through his films.
• Vocational Excellence Award by the Rotary Club
• Outstanding Achievement Awards by the apex bodies of Indian Industry – like the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry).
• He was honoured by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) at Malaysia for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.
• Honoured by NAASCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies) and AIAI (All India Association of Industries) for his outstanding achievements.
• He has also been awarded the Priyadarshini Award for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2001, the topmost and the highest honour given in the Indian film industry.
• He had been given the Maharastra state government’s Raj Kapoor and V. Shantaram’ Awards, in recognition of his impressive contributions to the Hindi film industry.
• Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th Pune International Film Festival 2006 [P.I.F.F.]
• A lifetime membership to BAFTA for his contribution to the Indian film industry. He is the first Indian to be honored at BAFTA in 59-year history of the academy.
• Honorary Doctorate in Art by the Leeds Metropolitan University in Yorkshire
• FIAPF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
• Honorary Doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies, July 2010.
• National Kishore Kumar Award by the Government of Madhya Pradesh
• Swiss Ambassador's Award 2010 for his contribution in promoting 'Brand Switzerland' through his movies.
• In October 2010 he was given the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema award at The Asian Awards.

External links

• Yash Chopra at IMDb