In a tragic turn of events, legendary Bollywood director Yash Chopra passed away at the age of 80, at Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital where he was being treated for dengue fever.
Chopra had recently turned 80, and his latest film Jab tak Hai Jaan starring Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif is scheduled to release on diwali. Chopra had indicated that this would be his last directorial venture.
Known for making some of the best love stories like Daag, Kabhie Kabhie, Silsila, Chandni and Lamhe and action dramas like Deewar and Trishul, the veteran has been busy shooting for Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
Courtesy IBN Live
He made his directorial debut with Dhool Ka Phool in 1959, a melodrama about illegitimacy and followed it with the hard-hitting social drama Dharmputra(1961).
In 1973, Chopra founded his own production company, Yash Raj Films, and launched it with Daag: A Poem of Love (1973), a successful melodrama about a polygamous man.
In a recent interview the director, whose heroes are often the poetic brooding type, admitted that he had once himself tried his hand at poetry.
Chopra, who was being interviewed by the star of his latest film Shah rukh Khan, said had written a poem for actress Meena Kumari. Chopra also revealed that Meena Kumari had encouraged him to become an actor. But it was Vyajayanthimala, who advised him to focus on direction.
When asked why he had waited for eight years after Veer Zara to make Jab Tak Hai Jaan, the ever-so-sincere Chopra said that he was afraid that there were too many good movies being made and he might not be able to meet the standards set by them.
He was also asked the question that perhaps all of us have been wondering about for years – how does Yash Chopra make his actresses look so beautiful?
An ever modest Chopra replied, “God has made women beautiful. I respect all women. I don’t see any badness in them. I am doing my duty by making God’s beautiful creation even more beautiful.”
