Yash Chopra: King of romance

Director Yash Chopra has died in Mumbai at the age of 80. Mr Chopra had been in hospital being treated for dengue since October 13. He is survived by wife Pamela and sons Aditya and Uday.

Yash Chopra's 22nd film as director, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma will release on November 13.

Yash Chopra was born on September 27, 1932 in Lahore. He was the youngest of eight children and his elder brother, B R Chopra, became a director and producer. A young Yash Chopra went to Mumbai with Rs 200 in his pocket and his mother's blessing to forge a career in film.

In Mumbai, Yash Chopra worked as an assistant with I S Johar and then with his brother B R Chopra. His first film as director was Dhool Ka Phool in 1959. The social drama starring Rajendra Kumar became a criticial and commercial hit.

In 1965, Yash Chopra directed Waqt which also became a hit and set the trend for ‘lost and found' films. It fetched Mr Chopra his first Filmfare award.

In 1971, Mr Chopra founded Yash Raj Films, which meant that he could now independently produce the films he directed. His films, till then, had been produced by his brother B R Chopra. Among his earliest successes with Yash Raj Films was 1975's Deewar starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor and Parveen Babi. Deewar broke many stereotypes of the time and catapulted it's cast and it's director to the top of the box office charts. Deewar won Mr Chopra another Filmfare award.

Despite Deewar's enormous success, Yash Chopra began moving away from drama and action to romance, with 1976's Kabhi Kabhie.

In 1981, Yash Chopra pulled off what is acknowledged to be a casting coup of sorts with Silsila, starring Amitabh Bachchan, his wife Jaya and Rekha. Rekha played the ‘other woman' in the movie, a role she was popularly believed to have assumed in real life as well.

He then made films every two or three years, including Chandni in 1989, Lamhe in 1991, Darr in 1993, Dil Toh Pagal Hai in 1997 and Veer-Zaara in 2004.

Eight years after he directed Veer-Zaara, Yash Chopra returned to directing with Jab Tak Hai Jaan. He partly shot the film in one of his favourite locales, Kashmir.

In an interview with Shah Rukh Khan on his 80th birthday this year, Yash Chopra had announced his retirement from directing saying that Jab Tak Hai Jaan, his 22nd film, would be his last.