Yash Raj Chopra is a filmmaker, film director, screenwriter, and a highly successful Bollywood producer. Waqt, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni, Darr, Dil To Pagal Hai, and Veer-Zaara are some of his highly popular movies. He is the founder of Yash Raj Films.Chopra was born on 27 September 1932 in Lahore, British India, into a Punjabi Hindu family. British India (now Pakistan). His father was an accountant in the PWD division of the British Punjab administration. He was the youngest of eight children, the oldest of whom was almost 30 years his senior. The eminent film-maker BR Chopra is one of his brothers, and among his sisters is Hiroo Johar, wife of the film maker yash Johar and mother of Karan Johar.Chopra was largely brought up in the Lahore house of his second brother, BR Chopra, then a film journalist. Chopra went to Jalandharin 1945 to continue his education, and studied at Doaba College, Jalandhar. He moved to Ludhiana in Punjab (in India) after the Partition. He originally sought to pursue a career in engineering.His passion for film-making 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, Baldev Raj Chopra.Yash Chopra has won the Filmfare Award for Best Director and the Filmfare Award for Best Movie four times each. The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005.
BR Chopra gave him his first directorial opportunity in Dhool Ka Phool (1959). Later he set up his own movie production company, Yash Raj Films, under which Daag of 1973 was his first movie. After this he directed films with highly successful and popular actors like Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan.He also made films with highly popular and successful actresses like Hema Malini, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla and with these stars is all the movies are regarded as cult classic. The biggest example is Sridevi starer Chandni the film created a different image of Sridevi in mind of the audience. As of December 2011, Yash is currently directing an untitled romantic film This untitled film finally got a name, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ which was released when posters adorned the front pages of national dailies early on Tuesday 11th September 2012, showing lead actor Shahrukh Khan in Indian army uniform, riding a Royal Enfield motorcycle. The screenplay has been written by Aditya Chopra who is also producing the film under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film also stars Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. The film, a love triangle, marks the return of Yash Chopra as a director after eight years. The posters were accompanied by poetry.The film is due for its release on the 13th of November 2012.
Yash and his wife, Pamela, have two sons Aditya and Uday. Aditya is also a film director and manages most of Yash Raj Production House. Uday is an assistant director turned actor; he received his first acting break in Aditya’s Mohabbatein.
National Film Awards
1961: President’s Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi – Dharmputra
1990, National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Chandni
1994, National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Darr
1996, National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (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
In addition to France’s highest civilian honour, Legion of Honour,he is the first Indian to be honored at BAFTA in 59-year history of the academy.
Other honors
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 Padma Bhushan in 2005.
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.Vice President of the Film Producers’ Guild of India for the last 10 years.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.Yash Chopra died of Dengue Fever on 21 October 2012.