Veteran Hindi filmmaker and ‘King of Romance’ Yash Chopra passed away at a suburban hospital in Mumbai on Sunday.
Chopra, who celebrated his 80th birthday on September 27, had been admitted to the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai last week on account of dengue infection, hospital sources said.
Chopra, known for landmark Bollywood films such as ’Trishul’, ‘Deewar’, ‘Silsila’, ‘Chandni’ and ‘Dil to Pagal Hai’, during his career spanning over five decades, had said on his birthday last month that his upcoming film ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ would he his last movie as a director.
Lilavati hospital spokesperson said Chopra was in the ICU for the past few days. Chopra, 80, is survived by wife and two sons, filmmaker Aditya Chopra and actor-producer Uday Chopra.
Yash Raj Chopra was born in Lahore, now in Pakistan, on September 27, 1932. He began his career as an assistant director to his elder brother B R Chopra and directed his own first film ‘Dhool Ka Phool’ in 1959.
The Chopra brothers made several more movies together during the late 50s and 60s. Chopra’s first commercial as well as critical success was Waqt (1965), a multi-star family drama. In 1973, Chopra founded his own production company Yash Raj Films.
Though he started out in late 50s, Chopra always had his finger on the pulse of the audience and continued to deliver blockbusters in every following decade.
His repertoire includes iconic angry-young man films like ’Trishul’ and ‘Deewar’, both featuring Amitabh Bachchan in central roles, but in the later years Chopra was more and more associated with the ‘romance’ genre.
A legendary filmmaker, Yash Chopra changed the face of romance in Hindi cinema to become a brand in Bollywood with numerous hits under his belt in his five-decade long illustrious career.
If Shah Rukh Khan is called the King, Chopra was definitely the kingmaker and gave support and fillip to many an artiste’s career and making them into superstars.
Although he began his career making different kinds of films, Chopra is today known mostly for the romantic films like ‘Silsila’, ‘Chandni’ and ‘Dilwale Duhania Le Jayenge’
The term ‘Yash Chopra romance’ is used to typify the kind of romantic films the filmmaker gave birth to in Bollywood.
Considered among one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of Hindi cinema, Chopra’s career has spanned over five decades and over 50 films.
Chopra has won several film awards, including six National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare awards including four Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Reacting to the news, filmmaker Subhash Ghai said, “Yashji was the guru of industry. He was always full of energy. He will be remembered forever.”
Director-producer Mahesh Bhatt said the “news is heart breaking.”