Baldev Raj Chopra (22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008) was a famous Indian director and producer of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

industry and television series . Best known for directing Hindi films like ''

Naya Daur ''Naya Daur'' may refer to: * ''Naya Daur'' (1957 film) * ''Naya Daur'' (1978 film) * ''Naya Daur'' (magazine), a literary magazine published by Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Prade ...

'' (1957), '' Sadhna'' (1958), ''

Kanoon ''Kanoon'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language film directed by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Rajendra Kumar, Nanda, Ashok Kumar, Mehmood, Shashikala, Jeevan and Om Prakash. The film presents a case against capital punishment, arguing that witn ...

'' (1961), '' Gumrah'' (1963), ''

Humraaz ''Humraaz'' () is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic thriller film directed by the duo Abbas–Mustan. It stars Bobby Deol, Akshaye Khanna and Amisha Patel. This film marks the third collaboration between Deol and Abbas–Mustan. ...

'' (1967), '' Insaf Ka Tarazu'' (1980), '' Nikaah'' (1982), '' Awam'' (1987), and the producer of TV series, ''

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

'' in 1988. He was awarded

Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broad ...

, India's highest award in cinema, for the year 1998, and

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, India's third highest civilian award, in 2001. His younger brother

Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the recipient of ...

, son Ravi Chopra and nephew

Aditya Chopra Aditya Chopra (; born 21 May 1971) is an Indian filmmaker, studio executive, producer and film distributor who mainly works in Indian cinema. Currently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of Yash Raj Films, founded by his father Ya ...

are also directors in the

industry. His nephew

Uday Chopra Uday Raj Chopra (born 5 January 1973) is an Indian actor, film producer, screenwriter and assistant director in Bollywood. He is the son of the late filmmaker Yash Chopra and brother of Aditya Chopra. His sister-in-law is the actress Rani Muk ...

is an actor and producer.

Biography

Chopra was born on 22 April 1914 in

Rahon Rahon is a city and a municipal council in the district Shaheed Bhagat Singh of the Indian state of Punjab. Rahon is in Doaba region of Punjab. Doaba also known as Bist Doab, is the region of Punjab, India that lies between the Beas River an ...

, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district (formerly Nawanshahr district) to Vilayati Raj Chopra, an employee of the PWD. He later shifted to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

. He was the second of several siblings; his youngest brother was filmmaker

. Chopra received an M.A. in English literature from

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

. He started his career in 1944 as a film journalist with ''Cine Herald'', a film-monthly published in

, he later took over the magazine and ran it until 1947. In the same year, he launched a film with a story by I. S. Johar, ''Chandni Chowk''. Naeem Hashmi was hero of this movie and Erika Rukhshi was the heroine. Just as the production of film was to start, riots broke out in

and he and his family had to flee from the city. After the partition of India into

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

in 1947, he moved to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

. He later moved to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, where his first production, ''Karwat'', began in 1948, though it turned out to be a flop. His first film as a director, '' Afsana'', was released in 1951 and featured

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

in a double role – the film was a hit and established his name in

. Chopra made ''

Chandni Chowk The Chandni Chowk, also known as Moonlight Square is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. It is located close to the Old Delhi Railway Station. The Red Fort monument is located at the eastern end of Chandni Chowk. It was b ...

'', with

Meena Kumari Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...

as a lead, in 1954. In 1955, Chopra formed his own production house, ''B.R Films''. His first movie for this production house was '' Ek Hi Raasta'' which was highly successful. He followed it up with ''

'' (1957) starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala Bali, the film became a golden jubilee hit. His subsequent releases like

, Gumrah,

were major hits in the sixties. In 1963, he was a member of the jury at the 13th Berlin International Film Festival. His second film with actor Dilip Kumar was Dastaan which became a flop in 1972. He directed successful film across genres after 1972, with films like suspense thriller ''Dhund'', drama ''Karma'' (1977), comedy film '' Pati Patni Aur Woh'', crime film in '' Insaf Ka Tarazu'', Muslim social in ''Nikaah'' and the political thriller ''Awam''. He was the producer for the films ''

Dhool Ka Phool ''Dhool Ka Phool'' () is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language film produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by B. R.'s brother Yash Chopra, being his first movie as a director, having been an assistant director in B. R.'s earlier film '' Naya Daur''. The ...

'', ''Waqt'', ''

Aadmi Aur Insaan Aadmi Aur Insaan is a 1969 Hindi film produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by Yash Chopra. The film stars Dharmendra, Saira Banu, Feroz Khan, Mumtaz, Johnny Walker, Madan Puri, Ajit, Anwar, Iftekhar, Achla Sachdev, Kamini Kaushal and Nazim ...

'' and ''Ittefaq'' directed by his younger brother Yash Chopra, and he also produced ''

The Burning Train ''The Burning Train'' is a 1980 Indian action thriller disaster film, produced by B. R. Chopra under the B. R. Films banner and directed by Ravi Chopra. The film featured a huge all-star cast, featuring Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna, ...

'', '' Aaj Ki Awaaz'', '' Mazdoor'', ''

Baghban The Bagban are a Muslim community found in North as well as the Decca areas of West India.People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part One edited by A Hasan & J C Das pages 108 to 111 In the Deccan region they are known as Bagwan. The Bagwan ...

'', ''Baabul'', '' Bhoothnath'' which were directed by Ravi Chopra. Chopra forayed into television with ''

'', whose become the most successful TV serials with 92% viewers record in Indian television history, where Nitish Bharadwaj played the role of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

and Mukesh khanna portrayed the role of Bhism pitamah and this was co-directed by him with his son. He also produced TV Series on Bahadur Shah Zafar, ''Kanoon'' (1993), '' Aap Beeti'' , '' Vishnu Puran'' (2000) and ''Maa Shakti''. He produced films like '' Baghbhan'', ''Babul'' and '' Bhootnath'', after 2000. He died in

at the age of 94 on 5 November 2008, survived by his son, Ravi Chopra, and two daughters Shashi and Bina.

Awards

;Civilian awards *

: 2001 ; National Film Awards * 1960: Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Hindi – ''

'' * 1961: President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi – ''

Dharmputra ''Dharmputra'' is a 1961 Hindi film directed by Yash Chopra based on a novel of the same name by Acharya Chatursen. This is Yash's second directorial venture. It was the first Hindi film to depict the partition of India, and Hindu fundamentalis ...

'' (Producer) * 1998:

; Filmfare Awards *

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

: Filmfare Award for Best Director: ''

'' * 2003:

Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, initially named Raj Kapoor Award for Lifetime Achievement after Raj Kapoor is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. List of honourees † - Indicates t ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
B R Chopra's unforgettable movies
'' Rediff.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, Baldev Raj 1914 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian screenwriters 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian male writers Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Film directors from Mumbai Film directors from Punjab, India Film producers from Mumbai Film producers from Punjab, India Filmfare Awards winners Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners Hindi film producers Hindi screenwriters Hindi-language film directors Indian male screenwriters People from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district Punjabi people Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Screenwriters from Mumbai Screenwriters from Punjab, India University of the Punjab alumni 20th-century Indian male writers