Baldev Raj Chopra (22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008) was a prolific Indian director and producer noted for pioneering the

Hindi film industry Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

and television series. He's known for directing notable films, such as '' Afsana'', '' Ek Hi Raasta'', , '' Sadhna'', ''

Kanoon ''Kanoon'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language courtroom drama 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 ...

'', '' Gumrah'', ''

Hamraaz ''Hamraaz'' () is a 1967 Indian Bollywood suspense thriller film, produced and directed by B. R. Chopra and written by Akhtar-Ul-Iman. It stars Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Vimi, Mumtaz in lead roles, with Balraj Sahni, Madan Puri, Jeevan, I ...

'', '' Dhund'', '' Pati Patni Aur Woh'', and ''

Nikaah In Islamic law, marriage is accomplished through the marriage contract, known as a () or more specifically, the bride's acceptance of the groom's dowry (''mahr'') and the witnessing of her acceptance. The contract has rights and obligatio ...

''. He also produced hit films, including ''

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''. Th ...

'', '' Waqt'', '' Ittefaq'', ''

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 Nazima. The film' ...

'', ''

Chhoti Si Baat ''Chhoti Si Baat'' (translation: ''A Small Matter'') is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Basu Chatterjee. Considered one of the best Hindi comedy films of the 1970s, it is a nostalgic favourite for its quirky tak ...

'', ''

The Burning Train ''The Burning Train'' is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film produced by B.R Chopra and directed by Ravi Chopra. The film features an ensemble cast of Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh ...

'', ''

Aaj Ki Awaaz () is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language vigilante action film directed by Ravi Chopra and produced by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Raj Babbar, Smita Patil, Nana Patekar, and Shafi Inamdar in the lead. The film is based on 1982 Hollywood movie ''Dea ...

'', ''

Baghban The Baghban are a Muslim community, found in North India and in Pakistan. In the Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya R ...

'' and the TV series, ''

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succes ...

''. He was awarded

Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest Film award, award in the field of cinema, given by the Government of India and presented annually at the National Film Awards. The recipient is honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the ...

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

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

, 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 Bollywood, Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the reci ...

, son

Ravi Chopra Ravi Chopra (27 September 1946 – 12 November 2014) was an Indian filmmaker, best known for directing the television show '' Mahabharat'' (1988–1990). Life Chopra was the son of producer and director B.R. Chopra and nephew of Yash Chopra. ...

and nephew

Aditya Chopra Aditya Chopra (born 21 May 1971) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and studio executive who works in Hindi cinema. He is the Chairman of India's multi-national film, media, and entertainment conglomerate Yash Raj Films (YRF).

are also directors in the

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

industry. His nephew

Uday Chopra Uday Raj Chopra (born 5 January 1973) is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of filmmaker Yash Chopra. He made his acting debut in the 2000 film ''Mohabbatein'' and featured in several other films including ''Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai'' ...

is an actor and producer.

Biography

Chopra was born on 22 April 1914 in

Rahon Rahon is a town and a municipal council in the district Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar 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 Riv ...

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

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. 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 (UoP) is a public university, public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South As ...

. 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 Indra Sen Johar (16 February 1920 – 10 March 1984) was an Indian actor, writer, producer and director, who excelled in comedic roles and is best known to international audiences for portraying Gasim in the epic film classic '' Lawrence of Arab ...

, ''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 The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

into

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. He later moved to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, 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 Ashok Kumar (born Kumudlal Ganguly; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is considered to be the first Super-st ...

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

. Chopra made ''

Chandni Chowk The Chandni Chowk (meaning Moonlight Square) is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. There is another location in Pune with the name Chandani Chowk. Located close to the Old Delhi railway station, the Mughal-era Red Fort ...

'', 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. Known as "The Tragedy Queen", she is regarded among the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinem ...

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'' (1956) which was highly successful. He followed it up with '' Naya Daur'' (1957) starring

Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...

and

Vyjayantimala Bali Vyjayanthimala Bali ( Raman; born 13 August 1933), known mononymously as Vyjayanthimala, is an Indian parliamentarian, dancer and former actress. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's greatest actresses and dancers, she is the recipient of sever ...

, 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 The 13th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 21 June to 2 July 1963. The Golden Bear was jointly awarded to '' To Bed or Not to Bed'' directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro and '' Bushido, Samurai Saga'' directed by Tadashi Imai. ...

. 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'' (1973), drama ''

Karm ''Karm'' () is a 1977 Hindi movie produced and directed by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Vidya Sinha, Shabana Azmi, Urmila Matondkar and Master Bittoo. The songs wrtin by Rajkavi Inderjeet Singh Tulsi and music given by R. D ...

'' (1977), comedy film '' Pati Patni Aur Woh'' (1978), crime film in (1980), Muslim social in ''

'' (1982) and the political thriller ''Awam'' (1987). He was the producer for the films ''

'' (1959), ''Waqt'' (1965), ''

'' (1969) and ''Ittefaq'' (1969) directed by his younger brother Yash Chopra, and he also produced ''

'' (1980), ''

Mazdoor ''Mazdoor'' (''Worker'') is a 1983 Bollywood film. Produced by B. R. Chopra, it was directed by his son Ravi Chopra. The film stars Dilip Kumar, Nanda, Raj Babbar, Suresh Oberoi, Rati Agnihotri, Padmini Kolhapure, Iftekhar, Madan Puri, and ...

'' (1983), (1984), (2003), ''Baabul'' (2006), ''

Bhoothnath ''Bhoothnath'' () is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language supernatural comedy film written and directed by Vivek Sharma, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi Chawla, Aman Siddiqui, Priyanshu Chatterjee and Rajpal Yadav and featuring Shah Rukh Khan in an ...

'' (2008) which were directed by

. Chopra forayed into television with ''

'', whose become the most successful TV serials with 92% viewers record in Indian television history, where

Nitish Bharadwaj Nitish Bharadwaj (born 2 June 1963) is an Indian television and film actor, director, screenwriter, film and TV programme producer, veterinary science graduate from Mumbai Veterinary college and former Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha. He is ...

played the role of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

and

Mukesh khanna Mukesh Khanna (born 23 June 1958) is an Indian actor, producer, and talk show host known for his work in Hindi films and television. He is best known for portraying the titular superhero in the television series ''Shaktimaan'' (1997–2005), wh ...

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 Bahadur Shah II, (Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad; 24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862), usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' ), was the twentieth and last List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Mughal emp ...

'', ''Kanoon'', '' Vishnu Puran'', ''Aap Beeti'' and ''Maa Shakti''. He died in

at the age of 94 on 5 November 2008, survived by his son,

, and two daughters Shashi and Bina.

Awards

;Civilian awards *

(2001) ;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

: Third Best Feature Film in Hindi – ''

'' *

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

: 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 fundamentali ...

'' (Producer) *

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

: Third Best Feature Film in Hindi – '' Gumrah'' *

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

: Best Feature Film in Hindi – ''

'' *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

;

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

Filmfare Award for Best Director The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in Hindi cinema. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year. Superlatives Bimal Roy has the re ...

: ''

'' *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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 ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
B R Chopra's unforgettable movies
''

Rediff.com Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, Baldev Raj 1914 births 2008 deaths 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-language screenwriters Hindi-language film directors Indian male screenwriters People from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Screenwriters from Mumbai Screenwriters from Punjab, India University of the Punjab alumni 20th-century Indian male writers People from Punjab Province (British India)