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Anupama Vinod Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist and film critic who served as the festival director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival from 2015 to 2023. She is also the founder and editor of the now-defunct digital platform Film Companion, which offered a curated look at cinema with an emphasis on Indian film. She has written several books on
Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...
and has been a film critic for
NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. It was founded in 1984 by economist Prannoy Roy and journalist Radhika Roy. NDTV began as a production house for news segments, ...
and ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...
'', as well as the ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
''. She also hosted a weekly film review show, ''The Front Row With Anupama Chopra'', on
Star World Star World, currently stylized logo-wise in capital letters and formerly known as Star Entertainment Channel and Star Plus respectively, is an Asian English language entertainment television channel originally launched on 15 December 1991 by ...
. She won the 2000 National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema for her first book ''Sholay: The Making of a Classic''. Chopra joined the Indian iteration of the film journalism outlet ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' in 2024, launched domestically in the same year by the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group.


Early life and background

Born as Anupama Chandra in Calcutta, India to Chandra Prasad family, she has also lived in Badayun, a city in Uttar Pradesh. Her father, Navin Chandra, was the eldest among his siblings. Anupama's grandfather, originally from Delhi, was an executive with
Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...
in
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
. Her mother, Kamna Chandra, was a scriptwriter who wrote dialogue for such films as ''
Prem Rog ''Prem Rog'' () is a 1982 Hindi-language Musical film, musical Romance film, romantic Drama (film and television), drama directed and produced by Raj Kapoor, with screenplay written by Jainendra K. Jain (screenwriter), Jainendra Jain and Kamna C ...
'' (1982) and '' Chandni'' (1989). Chopra grew up with her brother and sister in Mumbai, where her family lived in the
Nepean Sea Road Nepean Sea Road is a neighbourhood near Malabar Hill in South Mumbai, India. History The area is named after Sir Evan Nepean, 1st Baronet, a British politician and administrator, and the Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay c ...
neighbourhood, and then in
Cuffe Parade Cuffe Parade is a historic and significant business district of the city of Mumbai, India. It is home to a collection of commercial and office high-rises. It is bordered to the north by Nariman Point which, along with Cuffe Parade, forms the gr ...
. Her sister, Tanuja Chandra, is an Indian film director and screenwriter; her brother, Vikram Chandra, is a novelist, who splits his time between California and India. She also lived in Hong Kong for several years as a teenager. She graduated from
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic Church, Catholic, institution of higher education run by the Bombay Province of the Society of Jesus in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by the Jesuits on 2 January 1869. The college is ...
with a BA in English Literature in 1987. Later, Chopra earned her MA in journalism from
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
's
Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism (branded as Northwestern Medill; formally the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications) is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduat ...
. She won the Harrington Award for "academic excellence and promise for success in the field of magazine journalism" while at Medill. She later said, "Film journalism was untouchable at the time. Everybody was ashamed and nobody wanted to admit that I worked for movies."


Career

After her education, Chopra started her career as a film journalist and critic and over the years has written several books on films, especially Hindi cinema. She has written about the Hindi film industry since 1993 and has explored cinema in several mediums – print, television and digital. Her first book ''Sholay: The Making of a Classic'' (2000) won the 2001
National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema The National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards ...
(India). Chopra's 2011 book ''First Day First Show: Writings from the Bollywood Trenches'', is a compilation of her articles on Hindi cinema over two decades, published by Penguin India.Results for 'au:Anupama Chopra' books
WorldCat.org.
Chopra hosted film review show, ''Picture This'' on ''
NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. It was founded in 1984 by economist Prannoy Roy and journalist Radhika Roy. NDTV began as a production house for news segments, ...
'' 24X7 news channel. In 2012, she started her weekly review show called ''The Front Row with Anupama Chopra'', on
Star World Star World, currently stylized logo-wise in capital letters and formerly known as Star Entertainment Channel and Star Plus respectively, is an Asian English language entertainment television channel originally launched on 15 December 1991 by ...
, which ran until June 2014. In 2013, she released two books, ''Freeze Frame'' based on the interviews with film makers and actors on the TV show, and ''100 Films to See before You Die'' based on her weekly film columns. In 2014, she also did a Hindi show called 'Star Verdict' on Star Plus. In November 2014, Chopra replaced Srinivasan Narayanan to become the festival director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival organized by the
Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) is a public trust that organises the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in the city of Mumbai, India. Priyanka Chopra, Priyanka Chopra Jonas is the chairperson of the trust while Shivendra Singh Dungarpur serves ...
(MAMI). She remained in this role until June 2024, when she stepped down and was replaced by interim festival director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.


''Film Companion''

In July 2014, Chopra founded the website ''Film Companion'' as a pan-India platform for entertainment journalism. The platform carried reviews, interviews, features and masterclasses on cinema, television and web series content. Chopra, Rahul Desai, Sucharita Tyagi and Pratayush Parasuraman wrote for the platform. Baradwaj Rangan also wrote for many years before leaving on 15 March 2022. In July 2024, Chopra announced that she was moving on and that the ''Film Companion'', site was closing down.


Awards

* 2000 National Film Award for Best Book on Cinema for ''Sholay: The Making of a Classic''


Personal life

Chopra is married to
Vidhu Vinod Chopra Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards. He is known for directing films ...
, a producer and director of Hindi films. Her daughter Zuni Chopra (born 2001/2002) is the author of three books, including a novel and two books in poetry. Her son Agni Dev Chopra is a cricketer.


Bibliography

* ''Sholay: The Making of a Classic''. Penguin Books, 2000. . * , British Film Institute, 2002. . * '' King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema''. Grand Central Publishing, 2007. . * ''First Day First Show: Writings from the Bollywood Trenches''. Penguin Books India, 2011. . * ''Freeze Frames''. Om Books, 2013. . * ''100 Films to See before You Die''. BCCL, New Delhi, 2013. . * ''The Front Row: Conversation on Cinema''. HarperCollins ''Publishers'' India, 2015. . * ''In Conversation with the Stars''. Rupa Publications, 2019.


References


External links


Anupama Chopra reviews
at ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, Anupama Indian film critics Living people Writers from Kolkata Journalists from Kolkata St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni Medill School of Journalism alumni Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters Indian women television journalists Indian television journalists Women writers from West Bengal Indian women film critics 20th-century Indian journalists 21st-century Indian journalists 20th-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian writers Variety (magazine) people Year of birth missing (living people)