The
king of romance of Indian cinema Yash Chopra bid farewell to this mortal world
on 21st Oct. The veteran director / producer made his debut in film
industry as assistant director in early fifties and then directed many mile
stone movies in Bollyhood. He wanted to hang his boots after Jab Tak Hai Jaan starrer Shahrukh Khan and
Katrina Kaif. Once he said “I don't believe in politics and bloodshed in the
name of religion. I want to die with my boots on” that is why before he say
goodbye to his work life said him goodbye.
Yash Chopra did many experiments with
his films. In Waqt he started multi starrer trend, and the film is acknowledged
as a 'found film' of the 'lost and found' genre, and after this he exploited almost
every aspect of love. Love triangles find meanings in his films. His first independently produced film Daag, a melodrama about a man with two
wives, was a great success. Then
Trishul and Divar are considered as classics in Hindi cinema and he gave angry
young man to Indian cinema. In movie Kabhi-Kabhi he presented the other side of
love i.e. pain and agony of an unsuccessful lover and in Silsila the very
cleverly used the gossip of Amitabh’s personal life to make his film super hit.
His films are the classic examples of
pictorial beauty and melodious songs. In Chandani the music of Shiv Hari (Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma
and Hariprasad Chaurasia) brought back the musical genre, and
Lamhe was just the extension. Darr made Shahrukh Khan a star and Dil to Pagal
Hai gave a new dimension to his acting.
It was Chopra’s aesthetic talent that made
his films looks larger than life. Giving love its due, he had understandably linked his scripts to
the life of a common man. The stories were made more colourful by a spray of
the Punjabi culture. Romance,
music and a European setting were his signature touches.
Chopra's career
had spanned over five decades and over 50 films. He is considered among one of
the greatest filmmakers in the history of Hindi cinema. He won several film
awards, including six National Film Awards and
eleven Filmfare
awards including four Filmfare Awards 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. Beside this
he received France’s highest civilian honour, Legion of Honour. He was honoured by the Swiss Government for rediscovering Switzerland and recently, he was presented a Special Award by Ursula Andres on behalf of the Swiss Government. . He was
bestowed Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Millennium
Lifetime Achievement award in 2001, honorary Doctorate in Art by the Leeds
Metropolitan University in Yorkshire, National Kishore Kumar Award
by the Government of
Madhya Pradesh. In October
2010 he was given the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema award at The Asian Awards.
